Abstract
The rate of liquid copper oxidation plays an important role in the separation of impurities from copper during fire refining. However, the importance of factors affecting the rate of oxygen uptake by liquid copper is not clear. Top blowing oxidation of molten copper shows that the rate of oxidation is almost independent of the average oxygen concentration of the copper and proportional to the oxygen flow rate of the gas mixtures used. A pressure monitoring technique was used to determine the effect of a carrier gas such as N2, helium, and CO2, and the effect of the lance distance from the liquid surface on the partial pressure of oxygen in the gas phase. A numerical model was developed to help understand the mechanism of oxygen mass transfer into the molten copper.
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For more information, contact T. Marin, University of Toronto, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 184 College St., Toronto, Canada M5S 3E4; e-mail tanai.marin@utoronto.ca.
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Marin, T., Utigard, T. & Marin, T. The kinetics and mechanism of molten copper oxidation by top blowing of oxygen. JOM 57, 58–62 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-005-0254-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-005-0254-3