The Ni-converter – an historic perspective

Rozelle, Peter L.; Sridhar, Seetharaman; Queneau, Paul B.; Thompson, Shane M.

doi:10.1080/25726641.2018.1527085

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 34 publications

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“…THE Peirce-Smith converter (PSC) is a horizontal, cylindrical reactor that has been widely used in nonferrous metals industries for producing metals, such as Cu, Ni, and platinum group metals, for more than a hundred years. [1][2][3][4] The PS converting process involves gas blowing and gas-liquid movement, while the Fe and S are separated from the matte to form blister copper. Although the PSC has been the major furnace for blister copper production, it still faces certain problems, such as oversplashing, [5] low efficiency, [6] high Cu-content slag, [7] and the serious corrosion of furnace lining, [8] that limit the service life and production capacity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Study on Bubble Distribution and Splashing in a Peirce–Smith Copper Converter

Zhao

Wang

Liu

et al. 2021

Metall Mater Trans B

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More than 80 pct of copper matte in the world is refined by a Peirce-Smith converter (PSC), but there still exist a number of problems restricting the productivity of PSC. A novel view for improving the copper PSC process was proposed by investigating the bubble distribution and surface splashing through water model experiments. The operating parameters of tuyere diameter (d), liquid height (H), and gas flow rate (Q) were determined, and dimensionless equations were developed that calculate the bubble surface area per unit bath volume, A b /(HL); bubble number, N b ; and vertical and horizontal splashing distances, x/y, with errors less than 5 pct. From the application of the similarity principles on the results of the water model experiments, the optimal industrial parameters were determined as d = 0.03 m, H = 1.8 m, and Q = 30,000 to 35,000 Nm 3 /h. These results indicate that the current industrial PSCs are well within the ranges of these dimensions, with the possible exception of the tuyere diameter, which is typically 0.05 m.

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