An experimental study on the phase equilibria of FeOx-saturated iron silicate slags and metallic copper alloys at 1200–1300 °C

Abstract

The equilibrium phase relations between metallic copper alloys and magnetite/wüstite-saturated iron silicate slags were investigated at 1200–1300 °C and PO2 of 10−10 to 10−6.5 atm. The experiments involved high-temperature equilibration of samples in a controlled CO–CO2 atmosphere, followed by rapid drop quenching and direct measurement of the phase composition using the electron probe microanalysis technique. The equilibrium compositions for the metal and slag phase at different temperatures were displayed as a function of PO2. The present experimental results were compared with data from the literature as well as the thermodynamic assessment using MTDATA thermodynamic software. The present results contribute to the improvement of copper matte and black copper converting and slag cleaning processes.