Investigation of high-temperature slag/copper/spinel interactions

An important cause for the mechanical entrainment of copper droplets in slags during primary and secondary copper production is their interaction with solid spinel particles, hindering the sedimentation of the copper droplets. In the present study, the interactions between the three phases involved (slag-Cu droplets-spinel solids) were investigated using an adapted sessile drop experiment, combined with detailed microstructural investigation of the interaction zone. An industrially relevant synthetic PbO-CaO-SiO₂-Cu₂O-Al₂O₃-FeO-ZnO slag system, a MgAl₂O₄ spinel particle, and pure copper were examined with electron microscopy after their brief interaction at 1523 K (1250 °C). Based on the experimental results, a mechanism depending on the interlinked dissolved Cu and oxygen contents within the slag is proposed to describe the origin of the phenomenon of sticking Cu alloy droplets. In addition, the oxygen potential gradient across the phases (i.e., liquid Cu, slag, and spinel) appears to affect the Cu entrainment, as deduced from a microstructural analysis.