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Gaseous Refining of Anode Copper

  • Extractive & Process Metallurgy
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Summary

The refining of blister copper prior to casting into anodes consists of oxidizing the copper melt to remove sulfur and then reducing its oxygen content. The age-old “wood poling” technique for deoxidation is gradually being replaced by the injection of reducing gases through one or two tuyeres.

Thermodynamic and mass transfer analysis as well as laboratory tests have shown that the operating efficiency of gas injection can be improved considerably by enhancing mixing and gas-liquid mass transfer conditions within the copper bath. The injection of inert gas through porous plugs offers a viable industrial means for effecting such an improvement.

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Authors
  1. Pradeep Goyal
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  2. N. J. Themelis
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  3. Walter A. Zanchuk
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Goyal, P., Themelis, N.J. & Zanchuk, W.A. Gaseous Refining of Anode Copper. JOM 34, 22–28 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03338157

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03338157

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