Flash smelting and converting furnaces: A 50 year retrospect

1999 marked the 50th anniversary of the Outokumpu flash-smelting process. O riginating during the post-World War II energy crisis, flash smelting is a high-intensity process developed to attain ever-increasing throughputs and intensities. Many innovations and intensities. Many innovations and continu ous development ensued during the next 50 years before today's state-of-the -art copper-making process chain and environmental benchmarking technology (e.g., Outokumpu flash smelting, Kennecott-Outokumpu flash converting, and flash technology) became possible. This article reviews how Outokumpu flash furnace design, especially cooling for higher heat loads, has improved ove r the years.