Computer simulation of the interaction of copper monosulfide with sodium chloride in the presence of boron trioxide

Expansion of the raw material base of ferrous metallurgy depends to some extent on the creation of an effective technology for the complex processing of copper-magnetite ores with copper extraction. The article presents the results of studies of copper chlorination from CuS present in sulfide-magnetite ores using sodium chloride and boron trioxide. The studies were carried out in the temperature range of 500-1500 °C and a pressure of 0.1-0.001 bar by thermodynamic modeling using the HSC-10 software package based on the principle of minimum Gibbs energy. It was found that the interaction in the CuS-NaCl-B2O3-O2 system occurs with the formation of copper chlorides (Cu4Cl4, Cu3Cl3, Cu2Cl2, CuCl), sodium borates (Na2B4O6, Na2B6O10), Na2SO4, SO2(g). The temperature of the maximum (89-90%) degree of copper extraction into gaseous chlorides decreases from 1050 to 850°C with a decrease in pressure from 0.1 to 0.001 bar. It was found that the chloride sublimation of copper is accompanied by the formation of elemental copper and gaseous NaCl during the interaction of Cu3Cl3 with Na2B4O6.