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Melting cathode copper—A case study in process energy efficiency

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Abstract

Melting of cathode copper in the reverberatory, the electric are furnace and the Asarco shaft furnace is analyzed in order to evaluate specific capacity, process fuel equivalent and the energy efficiency for each process. The Asarco furnace possesses considerably higher specific capacity and energy efficiency than the reverberatory as a result of the basic design for counter-current flow. The electric are furnace has lower energy efficiency than the reverberatory (with a waste-heat boiler) because the inefficiency in generation of electric power from fuel more than outweighs the very low heat loss from the electric furnace.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Henry Krumb School of Mines, Columbia University, 10027, New York, N. Y.

    H. H. Kellogg (Stanley-Thompson Professor of Chemical Metallurgy)

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  1. H. H. Kellogg
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Kellogg, H.H. Melting cathode copper—A case study in process energy efficiency. Metall Trans B 6, 77–81 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02825680

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02825680

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