IMPACT OF CONCENTRATE FEED TEMPORAL FLUCTUATIONS ON A COPPER FLASH SMELTING PROCESS

A numerical investigation of the impact of concentrate feed temporal fluctuations on the performance of a copper flash smelting process is presented. These fluctuations, which originate from the burner feed system, can adversely affect the combustion process in the reaction shaft. This work aims at predicting the severity of these detrimental effects using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). An unsteady, two-dimensional axisymmetric reaction shaft model was implemented in a commercial CFD package. The accuracy of this model was first assessed by comparing numerical predictions with available plant data. Simulations were then performed for different concentrate mass flow rate time-dependent input functions. This investigation focused on previously published feed throughput fluctuation frequencies. In all simulated cases, the time-mean concentrate throughput remained constant to allow direct comparison with an ideal non-fluctuating case. Numerical predictions of key performance indicators, such as the time-mean oxygen efficiency and average matte grade, are presented and discussed.