Abstract
A novel approach for quickly separating a metal copper phase and iron-rich phase from copper slag at low temperature is proposed based on a super-gravity method. The morphology and mineral evolution of the copper slag with increasing temperature were studied using in situ high-temperature confocal laser scanning microscopy and ex situ scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. Fe3O4 particles dispersed among the copper slag were transformed into FeO by adding an appropriate amount of carbon as a reducing agent, forming the slag melt with SiO2 at low temperature and assisting separation of the copper phase from the slag. Consequently, in a super-gravity field, the metallic copper and copper matte were concentrated as the copper phase along the super-gravity direction, whereas the iron-rich slag migrated in the opposite direction and was quickly separated from the copper phase. Increasing the gravity coefficient (G) significantly enhanced the separation efficiency. After super-gravity separation at G = 1000 and 1473 K (1200 °C) for 3 minutes, the mass fraction of Cu in the separated copper phase reached 86.11 wt pct, while that in the separated iron-rich phase was reduced to 0.105 wt pct. The recovery ratio of Cu in the copper phase was as high as up to 97.47 pct.
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This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China (No. 51774037 and No. 51404025).
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Manuscript submitted September 15, 2017.
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Lan, X., Gao, J., Huang, Z. et al. Rapid Separation of Copper Phase and Iron-Rich Phase From Copper Slag at Low Temperature in a Super-Gravity Field. Metall Mater Trans B 49, 1165–1173 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-018-1235-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-018-1235-6