Pyrometallurgical brass production

US4131453A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Kennecott Copper Corporation · US

Inventors

• Jonathan J. Kim · Williamsville, US
• Thomas Loose · Gelnhausen, DE
• Chih-Chung Wang · Zhuolan Township, TW

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 18, 1977
• Grant date: Dec 26, 1978
• Expiry date: Aug 18, 1997

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02W30/50
• WIPO field: Materials, metallurgy
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

Waste materials containing significant quantities of zinc oxide are mixed with carbon and a sufficient amount of copper to set the overall Zn/Cu weight ratio to a selected value below 0.66. The mixture is loaded into the top of a shaft furnace having a lower region which is heated. Hot gas rising from lower regions of the shaft furnace preheats the mixture as it descends. Rising zinc vapor is prevented from escaping the furnace because it condenses in the relatively cool preheated mixture descending down the furnace. As the mixture descends, it enters a brass production zone where zinc vapor alloys with the copper in the mixture. Further descent brings the mixture to a zinc reduction zone where the temperature is above 950.degree. C and where ZnO is reduced by carbon or carbon monoxide to produce a zinc vapor which rises coutercurrently to the charge. Molten brass and some slag is removed from a brass reservoir which forms in the bottom of the furnace.