The effect of Al2O3 on fayalite-based copper smelting slags in equilibrium with matte and tridymite at 1 2008C and P(SO2) = 0.25 atm

Abstract

Abstract Experimental investigations have been undertaken to determine the effect of Al2O3in slag on the gas/slag/matte/tridymite equilibria in the multi-component Cu-Fe-O-S-Si-Al system at 1 200 8C, and P(SO2) = 0.25 atm. The experimental technique involves high temperature equilibration of synthetic samples on the open silica substrate in controlled gas atmospheres (CO/CO2/SO2/Ar), rapid quenching after a designated equilibration time followed by the compositional analysis of the condensed phases with electron probe X-ray microanalyzer. The experimental data of the present study provide information on the effect of alumina on the slag composition, such as the chemically dissolved copper, dissolved sulphur, and Fe/SiO2 ratio in slag at tridymite saturation at different Cu in matte. The new data have been used as inputs for the optimization of the thermodynamic databases for the copper-containing systems and can also be used to evaluate the fluxing strategy in the copper smelting operation.