A Study of Selenium and Tellurium Distribution Behavior, Taking the Copper Matte Flash Converting Process as the Background

Abstract

Single particle experiments have been carried out in the present study. An industrial copper matte powder, containing 68.04 wt. % Cu, 0.50 wt. % Se and 0.08 wt. % Te has been taken as the starting material. Se and Te phase assemblies and distribution behaviors have been systematically investigated in air atmosphere. After experiments, Se reported to blister copper, matte and oxide phase, whilst Te will enrich in oxide phases, including phases of the Fe-Si-Te-O, Ca-Fe-Te-O, and Ca-Te-O-(S) systems. Along with the increasing of temperature, selenium and tellurium content in copper and matte phases decrease. The introduction of CaO flux and typical impurities, Pb and Si, had significant influence on the Se and Te distribution. Results revealed that CaO addition and Si impurity accelerated the removal of Se and Te from the copper and matte phase, but the Pb impurity helped for more Se and Te in Cu rich phases.

Reaction Behavior of Na2SO4-Containing Copper Matte Powders in a Simulated Flash Converting Process

“…When the sample was processed at 1200 ℃, the particle surface became smooth, and a concentric spherical structure was formed. Fe, Ca, and O formed the outermost layer, which was speculated to be a CaO•Fe2O3 oxide liquid phase [21][22] . The innermost layer was the metal phase, consisting of Cu and Na, which was assumed to be Cu-Na alloy [23] .…”