Combustion in flash smelting furnaces

The reaction shaft is the heart of a flash smelter. Current knowledge of th e combustion of concentrate and ancillary fuels (coal, oil, and gas) in fla sh smelter shafts comes from laboratory studies, plant measurements, and ph ysical and mathematical modeling. The latter is particularly useful when co nsidering the complications of two-phase flow of particles and gas and chem ical reactions; however, uncertainty as to effective particle size requires validation to establish confidence in the model outcomes. Those issues are addressed in the paper, together with the importance of the burner in achi eving good mixing and dispersion. Simulations, which may be viewed on the w eb, show the consequences of poor mixing.