Energy Recovery and Substitute Fuel Technology in the Flash Smelting Furnace with Electrodes (FSFE) at Tamano Smelter

Abstract

The Tamano Smelter is a large scale coastal facility which started operations in 1972 employing the FSFE process. The FSFE is a Outokumpu type flash smelting furnace to which electrodes have been added to the settler and the up-take is equipped with a water-cooled jacket. With respect to hearth maintenance and the elimination of boiler trouble, this type is superior to the conventional type flash smelting furnace.
In the initial start-up, the Tamano Smelter was producing 101, 000 tons of anodes a year, and through the introduction of a two step oxygen enrichment, process production has been increased to the present 196, 000 tons per year. During this period the two so called oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 resulted in a dramatic rise in energy cost. To cope with this an energy saving program was instituted to reduce production costs.
This paper focuses on the energy savings associated with the flash smelting furnace. First, the water-cooled up-take was replaced by a boiler from which waste heat could be recovered, and secondly, the fuel was changed from heavy oil to coke. In addition, the fuel change resulted in an auxiliary benefit. Through the development of a FSFE operational technology called carbon monoxide concentration control, the special qualities of coke could be utilized and the charging of the electrodes in the settler was eliminated.