KOPAR EXPERTISE IN SMELTER EQUIPMENT

Satisfied clients worldwide prove that Kopar equipment is at its best when conditions are harsh and demanding.

Continuous operation of the plant is secured by choosing reliable process equipment such as rotary dryers, anode furnaces and granulation plants designed and manufactured by Kopar. Unnecessary interruptions in material flow can be eliminated by using Kopar drag conveyors and pneumatic conveyors in bulk material transportation.

 

 

KOPAR EQUIPMENT FOR SMELTER PROCESSES

Kopar is an engineering and manufacturing company that has a long tradition in non-ferrous smelter processes. With tens of years of hands-on experience in metallurgical solutions for mining industry customers all over the world, Kopar is a reliable partner in the manufacture and supply of high-quality process solutions.

The smelter technology related to Kopar products and equipment include dryers, furnaces, granulation plants, pneumatic and mechanical conveyors, and crushers, for instance. Furthermore, Kopar project management can help the customer in areas like commissioning and training. Kopar is a supplier of complete solutions. 

 

ROTARY AND STEAM DRYERS 

For the first phase of a smelter process, Kopar is able to offer two types of dryers, namely rotary dryers and steam dryers. Both are suitable for continuous drying of powdered minerals in mining, concentrating and flash smelting operations. Each drying application is individual and the size and type of the dryer must be chosen accordingly. The choice is made based on long experience of similar applications and on the laboratory tests of drying. 

There are two types of rotary dryers, the drums of which can be either concurrent or counter-concurrent. The choice depends on the properties of the material. In rotary drying, the direct heating principle is used whereby the heat is transferred to the material mainly by convection.

The Kopar steam dryers are an alternative to rotary dryers. The choice depends on the smelting plant’s parameters in using the available steam that generates during the smelting process. Kopar Steam dryers are patented. The new construction decreases the mechanical wear on the tubes by making the rotation speed of the material and tubes the same. 

There are several factors that need to be analysed when deciding the type and size of the dryer. They include among others:

• Drying degree
• Specific heat
• Moisture evaporation capacity
• Flammability
• Sintering properties

Kopar dryers can be supplied in several sizes with the capacity range up to 250 tph.

CONVERTERS

After the dried copper concentrate has gone through the roasting and smelting processes, it goes into a converter where matte is converted into metallic copper. This batch process is carried out in a horizontal, brick-lined cylindrical reactor called the Peirce-Smith Converter.

The converting process has four main steps after which the material is turned into blister copper that is approximately 98.5 % pure copper.

The experts of Kopar have been involved in tens of converter deliveries all over the world. The last delivery was a 13” x 34” Peirce-Smith Converter to Boliden Finland’s Harjavalta smelter in 2007.

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ANODE FURNACE

Kopar personnel have also been involved in deliveries of tens of anode furnaces mostly to copper smelters. In anode furnaces the blister copper material is further refined before it is cast into anodes for the final refining by copper electrolysis.

An anode furnace is a horizontal, brick-lined steel cylinder supported on rollers. In the manufacture of anode furnaces Kopar co-operates with leading suppliers.

The average batch sizes of anode furnaces range from 300 tonnes to 450 tonnes.

GRANULATION PLANTS

In metallurgical industry hot matte and slag can be granulated in a process, where the flow of molten material is sprayed by water causing it to disintegrate. The formed granules drop into a pit filled with water.

Before the next phase in the process the granules must be dewatered. A bucket elevator, also another Kopar piece of machinery, lifts the granules up from the pit dewatering them during the lift. From the elevator the granules are moved onto a dewatering screen that reduces the remaining water content of the granules before they are fed into a silo by a box-type belt conveyor.

DRAG CHAIN CONVEYORS

Drag chain conveyors are ideal in transporting powdered and dusty materials. Such materials are very common in copper and nickel smelters, for instance. Drag chain conveyors make it easy to transfer concentrates and hot dusts from waste heat boilers or electrostatic precipitators.

By choosing the correct link and pin material, even the most abrasive and very hot (up to 600º C; 1.112º F) materials can be handled safely and effectively. Kopar drag chains are usually made of case hardened or tempering steel.

There are three main flight types of drag chains. The type is chosen depending on the width of the conveyor and the inclination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRUSHERS

There are two main types of crushers in the Kopar product range. The rotor crusher is usually used in the primary stage followed by the roller crusher for the secondary stage. These crushers are used in crushing materials that are cloddy or lumpy but still degradable to make them more suitable for conveying.

Typical materials are waste heat boiler slag and dust lumps and other materials with clods or lumps formed in the process.

The maximum capacity can be up to 30 tph and when placed consecutively, they process the material from the maximum feed size of 300 mm (1’) down to the final product size of 5 x 5 mm (0.20” x 0.20”).

PNEUMATIC CONVEYING

Pneumatic conveying is one of the most efficient and economical ways of handling process industry materials. There are several methods of pneumatic conveying that can be chosen depending on the material, the conveying distance, the volume and the particular process. In smelter processes the mostly used method is that of the pulse dense phase system.

There are hundreds of process plants all over the world, where Kopar pneumatic conveying systems are used. They cover the handling needs of processes and the conveying distances up to 1,000 m (3,350 ft).

The pulse dense phase system operates in a batch mode. The batch then travels as high density pulsed plugs through the pipeline to the receiving silo. The system is easy to operate since it is fully automated and integrated with the plant’s control (DCS) system. The system offers such benefits as low energy consumption and low wear of components.

KOPAR SERVICES FOR SMELTER CLIENTS

There are quite a few services Kopar is able to offer to its clients of metallurgical industry. In order to maintain the high availability of smelters, services offered by Kopar include:

• Pilot tests
• Engineering
• Project management
• Erection
• Start-up
• Training
• Annual maintenance check-ups
• Modernizations
• Spare&Wear parts