Structural Changes in Copper Slags During Slow Cooling
Sukurov B. Kvyatkovskiy S. Kozhakhmetov S. Semenova A. Dyussebekova M. Kvyatkovskaya M.
October 2024Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Metals
2024#14Issue 10
The objects of the study were converter slags from the Balkhash copper plant in their initial state and after heat treatment. Using mineralogical and X-ray phase analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), it was found that the initial converter slag and its thermally treated samples have identical matrices with almost complete coincidence in mineral and phase compositions. The distinguishing feature is the quantitative ratio of mineral components in the slag mass. Almost all of the iron is oxidized and present in the form of fayalite, magnetite, and magnetite, with other elements (silicon, copper, zinc, and aluminum) incorporated into its lattice. The structure of all slag samples indicates an association of sulfur exclusively with copper. Copper in the slags was identified in both metallic and sulfide forms. Slow cooling of the converter slag after its remelting contributes to the reduction in the sulfide–metal suspension in the volume of the melt and its coarsening. During slow cooling, structural changes occur not only in the main oxide part of the slag but also in the polymetallic globules.
depletion of slags , high-dynamic formation of Pb microdroplets , metallurgical slags , microstructure , polymetallic globules , slow cooling
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Institute of Metallurgy and Ore Beneficiation, Satbayev University, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan
Institute of Metallurgy and Ore Beneficiation
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