Ca. Pickles, SELECTIVE OXIDATION OF COPPER FROM LIQUID COPPER-SILVER ALLOYS, Metallurgical and materials transactions. B, Process metallurgy and materials processing science, 29(1), 1998, pp. 39-51
Citations number
25
Categorie Soggetti
Material Science","Metallurgy & Metallurigical Engineering
In this work, the oxygen refining of liquid copper-silver alloys with
a borosilicate slag was studied. First, a comprehensive thermodynamic
analysis was performed using the data available in the literature. The
results indicate that since silver oxide is relatively unstable in si
licate-based slags, then it should be thermodynamically feasible to ox
idize copper from copper-silver alloys with a very low silver loss to
the silicate slag. In actual practice, although relatively low copper
levels can be achieved in the metal phase, the silver losses to the sl
ag are excessive. Therefore, in the present work, both kinetic and equ
ilibrium experiments were performed on a molten copper-silver alloy co
ntaining 12.68 mass pct silver in order to elucidate the mechanism of
silver loss to the slag. The kinetic experimental results indicated th
at copper levels of less than 2 mass pct could be achieved with silver
recoveries of about 95 pct after relatively short refining times of 1
5 minutes. In the equilibrium experiments, the copper contents of the
metal were less than 1 mass pct, and these values were in good agreeme
nt with those which were calculated from the data of previous research
ers. In order to explain the relatively high silver losses to the slag
, a model was developed which is based on the transport of silver from
the metal phase to the slag phase both in metallic form and as silver
oxide in the copper oxide oxidation product. The copper and silver ox
ides and the metallic copper-silver alloy are all transported into the
slag by the oxidizing gas bubbles. It is proposed that once in the sl
ag, the silver oxide is unstable and decomposes into metallic silver w
hich is not easily recovered in the metal phase. Also, the transfer of
the copper-silver alloy into the slag, by the gas bubbles, promotes t
he slag-metal exchange reaction, which again results in the generation
of silver particles in the slag.