Improving the Efficiencies of Copper Pyrometallurgy Through Exergy Assessment

To satisfy the needs of an ever-growing population, it is imperative to cope with the extended demand for copper. To do so, copper makers mostly rely on pyrometallurgical processes that are characterized by emitting hazardous gases and solid wastes, and by the fact that these processes are energy demanding. Additionally, copper makers face the issue of processing leaner ore bodies or exploiting mineral deposits already overexploited or about to end their productivity cycle. These problems compromise the sustainable production of copper. Because of that, this study focuses on the leading technology in use to assess and identify possible solutions in order to improve the efficiency of energy usage and to decrease the amount of wastes generated in copper pyrometallurgy. To do so, reliable thermodynamic databases and Sankey diagrams were used to determine possible improvements. For example, it is determined that by increasing the mass ratio of Fe/Cu in the mineral feedstock may result in increasing the copper content in the matte, and thus reducing the exergy flows, resulting in improved energy usage. Another positive impact is that using oxygen-enriched air with higher copper concentrations could decrease SO2 emissions by nearly 25%. Among other detrimental environmental issues, they entail.