Moisture effect on the combustion of a single copper concentrate particle in a flash smelting furnace

A mathematical model has been presented to study the combustion of a single copper concentrate particle with high moisture content. By using the presented model, the effect of particle moisture content on particle temperature, sulfur oxidation, and combustion heat generation has been evaluated. The mineralogical composition of the commonly used concentrate at Khatoonabad flash smelting furnace has been used in this study. It was found that the particle moisture content is removed in the sub-second time range and thus the moisture has marginal impact on the variation of particle temperature and on the reaction rate when the gas temperature is assumed to be constant in the reaction shaft. When a concentrate with high moisture content is charged, the particle size enlargement due to the agglomeration of concentrate particles causes an abrupt fall in the particle reaction rate.