Journal

Paper

Introduction

Sulphating roasting is a unit operation in theproduction process for copper and cobalt fromsulphidic ores. The simplified block diagram inFigure 1 shows that roasting is the first stagein the process flow sheet. The objective ofroasting is a selective sulphation of copper andcobalt, while ferrous minerals and componentsare oxidized to haematite. The sulphates aredissolved in the leaching stage. Calcineleaching is often carried out with spent acid toimprove leaching kinetics and to recover alsothe small portion of copper oxides that areunavoidably generated during roasting andthat would otherwise be lost.

Under these conditions iron remainspractically insoluble and can be separated withthe tailings from the copper- and cobalt-containing liquor. Extraction of copper andcobalt is carried out by solvent extraction withsubsequent electrowinning (SX-EW). Theroasting off-gas is used for sulphuric acidproduction. This production process has beenin operation for several decades. It is partic-ularly suitable for cobalt-containing copperores. Process control is uncomplicated andoperation is profitable at low capacities.

Reactions

The sulphation reaction occurs in three mainsteps. In the first step the metal sulphides areoxidized to metal oxides. Me denotes mainlyCu, Co, and Fe but also Ni, Ca, and Mg.

Sulphating roasting of copper-cobaltconcentratesby J. Güntner* and J. Hammerschmidt*

Synopsis

Most copper/cobalt ores from the Central African Copperbelt containsulphidic compounds, which are not extractable in direct leaching.Roasting provides the possibility to transfer the valuablecomponents into leachable compounds. In an operation windowdefined by temperature and off-gas composition it is possible toselectively oxidize iron sulphides to haematite and copper/cobaltsulphides to sulphates.

Selective sulphating of the valuable minerals is an importantcondition for the subsequent leaching stage. The dissolved copperand cobalt are recovered by solvent extraction and electrowinning.This technology has been part of an established process for manydecades.

The concentrates from recent projects on the Copperbelt havelower sulphur contents, and frequently higher copper contents, thanthose from older projects. The paper shows the consequences of thistrend for plant operation and explains useful counter actions bymeans of case studies. Autothermal combustion is ensured even atvery low sulphur contents.

Off-gas treatment has so far been based on SO2 removalthrough sulphuric acid production. The generated acid is used tomake up acid losses in the hydrometallurgical plant section. Thiswell-proven process combination is still the preferred route if thefeed sulphur content is high enough; however, some cases mayrequire different off-gas cleaning concepts without compromising onclean air quality.

Roasting in a fluid-bed furnace remains the core of thetechnology. Fluid-bed roasters are easy to operate and provide anexcellent control of the calcine quality. Different feeding and heat-recovery systems are used to provide a tailor-made solution for eachproject.

Outotec built it first sulphatizing roaster in Zambia about 30 years ago. At that time, the roasting of metal sulphides wasalready one of the main technologies in the company. Outotec hasdeveloped roasting solutions for copper, gold, zinc, lead,molybdenum, and pyrite ores. The continuously expanded andupgraded research facilities provide an excellent basis fordeveloping sustainable, energy-efficient, and economic solutions forcopper and cobalt production in Africa.

Keywordssulphating roasting, copper concentrate, copper-cobalt concentrate,copper sulphate, copper-cobalt sulphate, chalcosite, chalcopyrite,Copperbelt.

* Outotec, Germany.© The Southern African Institute of Mining and

Metallurgy, 2012. SA ISSN 0038–223X/3.00 +0.00. This paper was first presented at the,Industrial Fluidization South Africa Conference,16–17 November 2011, Cradle of Humankind,South Africa.

455The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy VOLUME 112 JUNE 2012 �

Sulphating roasting of copper-cobalt concentrates

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

In the second step, sulphur dioxide is oxidized to sulphurtrioxide. This reaction is supported by copper and iron actingas catalysts.

[5]

Finally, the metal oxides react with sulphur trioxide toform sulphates and basic sulphates.

[6]

[7]

The direct sulphation of metal sulphides is also possible.Oxygen excess is important for all sulphation reactions.

[8]

Figure 2 shows the predominance phase diagram for theCu-O-S system. The off-gas contains typically 5-8 vol.% ofoxygen in order to shift the reaction to the formation ofcopper sulphate. High SO2 contents are also favourable forthe reaction; however, the SO2 level depends on the sulphurcontent of the feed material. It is possible to intensify thesulphation reaction by addition of NaSO4 as it was practisedin the past2.

The typical temperature range is 650–700°C. Testwork inOutotec’s R&D centre confirmed that above 650°C, Fe2O3 isthe predominant stable iron compound. Pre-existing ironsulphates decompose to haematite, while a substantialdecomposition of copper sulphates starts only at 700°C. At680°C, 93 per cent of the copper exists as sulphate, while at

720°C this proportion drops below 50 per cent. Cobalt is lesssensitive. Even at 720°C more than 90 per cent remains inthe sulphate form. More than 95 per cent of the ironsulphates are decomposed at 680°C. A reliable temperaturecontrol and as small a spread of temperature as possible inthe furnace are essential for high copper recovery.

Roasting process

Roasting is carried out in a bubbling fluid bed. Figure 3shows the elements of the roasting area. The furnace consistsof a cylindrical bottom section that contains the fluidized bed,a conical transition section, and an expanded freeboard. Thefeed material is injected as slurry by means of compressed airthrough slurry lances into the fluidized bed. In order to avoidmaterial build-up at the furnace walls as well as abrasion ofthe furnace refractory lining, the injected slurry should notimpinge on the furnace walls. Lance position, direction, andinjection pressure are designed and adjusted accordingly. Theslurry is atomized when it contacts the fluidized bed toensure homogeneous material distribution over the fullfurnace area.

The roasting process is autothermal. The sulphides in thefeed serve as fuel and as reagent to form sulphates. Theroasting temperature is kept within a narrow range of ± 10°C.

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456 JUNE 2012 VOLUME 112 The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Figure 1—Simplified block-flow diagram for copper-cobalt production

Figure 3—Roasting process

Figure 2—Phase diagram

10

8

6

4

2

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10-20 -16 -12 -8 -4 0

File: C:\HSC7\Lpp\CuOS680.ips log pO2(g)

Cu-O-S Phase Stability Diagram at 680.000C

CuS

Cu2S

Cu

CuSO4

Cu2OCuO

CuO*CuSO4

High-sulphurconcentrate

Low-sulphurconcentrate

log pSO2g)

ROASTERAIR BLOWER

FLUID BEDROASTER

CYCLONE

DUSTRECIRCULATION

FEEDSLURRY

CALCINEQUENCH TANK

CALCINETOLEACHING

SPENT ACID

OFF-GAS TO GAS CLEANINGAND SULPHURIC ACID PLANT

Calcine

Slurry feeding

Off-gas

Air

Effluent

Sulfuric Acid Copper, Cobalt

Tailings

As explained in the previous section, the temperaturewindow is 650–700°C. The slurry density is adjusted toslightly higher than that required for autothermal operation.Fine tuning of the temperature is achieved by water or liquoraddition into the slurry at the inlet to the slurry lances.

Roasting air enters the furnace through the nozzle grate.The height of the fluidized bed is 1 to 1.5 m, correspondingto a windbox pressure of 180–230 mbar. The calcine isdischarged via an overflow weir. Entrained dust particlesleave the furnace with the off-gas and are separated in acyclone stage. The small dust particles contain moresulphate-compounds than the furnace bed material, due tothe different process conditions in the freeboard. This factapplies for copper, cobalt, and unfortunately also for iron. Inorder to limit the content of iron sulphates, the dust istherefore separated in the cyclone stage and returned to thefurnace. Owing to its high sulphate content, the dust is stickyand its flow behaviour is problematic.

A boiler is standard in some other roasting applications torecover heat from the off-gas. However, it is not used insulphating roasting because of the low off-gas temperatureand the stickiness of the dust. The off-gas temperature isreduced with water in one or two quench stages. Slurryfeeding and water quenching of the off-gas generates ratherhigh volumes of off-gas. The contained water vapour has tobe removed by condensation in a gas cooling stage. Asulphuric acid plant is standard for the final off-gastreatment.

The majority of the calcine is removed from the roastervia a height-adjustable bed overflow and is discharged to thecalcine quench tank. In other roasting applications the calcineis cooled by indirect heat transfer in a water-cooled fluid-bedcooler. Indirect calcine cooling is usually applied if the calcineis to be conveyed and stored dry or if water is short. Inendothermic processes, calcine cooling is a source of heatrecovery to reduce the fuel consumption. Gold ore roastersthat treat the whole ore instead of a concentrate areendothermic owing to the low sulphur contents of 2–5 per cent.

Conventional sulphatizing roasting

Feedstock examples are shown in Table I. Concentrate A istypical for most realized projects so far. The copper content isusually less than the sulphur content. The iron content variesbetween 15 and 25 per cent. Cobalt is always present in thelow percentage range. Concentrates of type B were ratheratypical in the past; however, they have been appearing insome recent projects. The copper contents are much higherand the sulphur contents much lower compared withconcentrate A. Copper is between 30 and 40 per cent andsulphur is well below 20 per cent. Iron contents can be as lowas 5 per cent. Concentrate A contains mainly chalcopyritewith a low portion of chalcocite whereas in concentrate Bchalcocite predominates over chalopyrite. This variationaffects the heat balance, the calcine composition, and the off-gas treatment.

The data in Table II represents the roasting operationwith type A concentrate . Copper sulphide is converted by

more than 90 per cent to CuSO4 and CuO.CuSO4. The ratiobetween the sulphate and the basic sulphate is usuallyaround 2:1. The calcine contains to a small extent CuO andtraces of CuS. More than 95 per cent of the iron is in theoxide form. The rest appears mainly as sulphate. The ironsulphates are soluble in the leaching stage. Up to 5 per centof the iron is usually dissolved; the rest remains in solidform. More than 95 per cent of the cobalt is sulphatized; therest is oxide. The selected example is based on a feed rate of15 t/h (dry basis). Slurry feeding at 65–70 wt% solids isusual.

The required roasting air flow is 32 000 Nm³/h. The off-gas flow rate after the roaster is 39 000 Nm³/h. It increases tomore than 40 000 Nm³/h in the off-gas quench stages and isreduced to 30 000 Nm³/h after wet gas cooling. The SO2content of the off-gas is 5 per cent,, which makes it suitablefor sulphuric acid production. The example reflects the basecase for sulphating roasting. Copper and cobalt recoveries areusually above 90 per cent.

Adaptation to different feed materials

The sulphur distribution between calcine and off-gas isdetermined mainly by the temperature, which in turn shouldbe between 650 and 700 °C to promote formation of ironoxides and of copper/cobalt sulphates. The ratio of Cu+Co/Sis typically 1.2 to 1.3 for concentrate A types. This ratio isdetermined by the mineralogy of the ore. High chalcocitecontent causes lower Cu/S ratios. Concentrates of type B have

Sulphating roasting of copper-cobalt concentratesJournal

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457The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy VOLUME 112 JUNE 2012 �

Table I

Chemical analyses of typical concentrates

Concentrate A, wt% Concentrate B, wt%

Cu 20 38Fe 18 3Co 25 15S 3 3

Table II

Case A – Design variables for a conventionalsulfating roast

Input Output

Feed or calcine

Mass flow kg/h 15 000 17 100

Cu % 20 17

Fe % 18 16

Co % 3 3

S % 25 9

Moisture % 30–35

Process conditions:Feed = Concentrate ARoasting air 32 000°C at 50°C Nm³/hRoaster offgas 39 000 Nm³/hGas flow to acid plant 30 000 Nm³/hSO2 (dry) 5 Vol%

Sulphating roasting of copper-cobalt concentrates

mostly Cu+Co/S-ratios below 1. The consequence is that thecalcine contains a higher portion of copper and cobalt oxidesand that the SO2 content in the off-gas drops well below thelimit for autothermal sulphuric acid production.

The phase diagram in Figure 2 shows that the operatingpoint is shifted towards the stability fields of basic sulphatesand, even, of copper oxides. The different calcine compositionaffects the conditions and the sulphur balance in the leachingand SX-EW process stages.

Heat-balance calculations show that autothermal roastingis not sustainable at a slurry solid content of 65 per cent. Thefollowing possibilities exist to ensure autothermal roasting atlow sulphur contents:

� Higher slurry solid content� Solid feeding instead of slurry feeding� Preheating of roasting air� Use of oxygen-enriched roasting air.

A higher slurry solid content is a possibility if the sulphurdeficit for autothermal roasting is only small. The physicallimits of thickening and slurry pumping have to beconsidered. Solid contents above 70 per cent are sometimesdifficult to achieve in conventional thickening, and slurrytransport becomes critical at high solid contents. Moreover itis observed that atomization of the slurry at such high solidcontents is difficult.

Solid feeding requires filtration of the slurry. The feedingsystem has to be changed. Figure 4 shows feeding withslinger belts, which have been common practice in Outoteczinc and pyrite roasters for a long time. The material is feddirectly onto the fluid bed. Dust entrainment is thereforelimited. The feed material can be moistened with spray wateron the feeding belt conveyor. This helps to control thetemperature in the furnace. Considerable experience has beengained in zinc ore and pyrite roasting. The material enters thefurnace through feed ports and is homogeneously distributedin the furnace. The furnace has to be under slight negativepressure to avoid escape of roasting gases through the feedports. In the event that plant operation is disturbed,automatic gates shut the feed ports and feeding is stopped.

Slinger belt feeding is used even for very fine concentrateswith 80 per cent below 45 µm. If required, a microgranulationstage can be incorporated in the feeding system area in orderto tackle the problem of superfines.

Preheating of the roasting air is common for endothermicprocesses such as calcination of aluminium hydrate. In orderto ensure autothermal roasting, the heat contained in thecalcine is transferred in calcine cooling to the roasting air.Figure 5 shows a typical fluid-bed cooler solution as used in

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458 JUNE 2012 VOLUME 112 The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Figure 4—Feeding system for solid feeding – slinger belts

ROASTERAIR BLOWER

FLUID BEDROASTER

CYCLONE

DUSTRECIRCULATION

FEED

CALCINEQUENCH TANK CALCINE

TOLEACHING

SPENT ACID

OFF-GAS TO GAS CLEANINGAND SULPHURIC ACID PLANT

Figure 5—Heat recovery in calcine cooler

RoasterFeed Bin

CirculatingFluid Bed System

Fluid BedAir Preheater

Calcine CoolerCalcine

Quench Tank

PreheatedSec. Air

Air

Heat recoverysolution applied ingold ore roasting

Gas Cleaning

Water

LeacingSec. Air

Preheated Airto Dry Grinding

Fuel

Ore

Outotec’s fluid-bed processes for several decades. To datesuch installations are uncommon in roasting applications asroasting is always exothermic. For endothermic processessuch as aluminum hydrate calcination or decomposition ofsulphates they are common. The example in Figure 5 is froma gold roasting plant in the USA. As whole-ore roasting wasapplied the process was endothermic. The sulphur contentswhole-ore roasting are typically below 5 per cent, which is not sufficient for autothermal roasting. Figure 6 shows afurther example of a fluid-bed cooler with heat recovery for aroasting application. The fluidizing air is de-dusted in acyclone and the dust is directed together with the coolerdischarge to the calcine quench tank.

Preheating up to 400°C is common. Process calculationsfor roasting of concentrate B show that the roasting air needsto be preheated to 330°C to ensure autothermal roasting withslurry feeding at 65–70 wt% solids. The calcine is cooled to250°C. Further calcine cooling is possible; however, owing tothe weak heat transfer at low temperatures it is moreeconomical to quench the calcine once its temperature dropsbelow 200°C and to use the contained heat in calcineleaching. The fluid-bed cooler contains air bundles throughwhich the roasting air is directed countercurrent to the calcineflow. The cooler is stationary; it contains no mechanicalparts, which keeps maintenance at a minimum. A fan isrequired with a capacity around 2000 Nm³/h for fluidizingthe calcine. This air stream is heated in the cooler and isintroduced into the furnace as secondary air at the conicalfurnace section. Table III shows that the roasting airrequirement is substantially lower than for case A. The off-gas volumes are also less. The SO2 content is 1-2 vol.%,however, which is not sufficient for sulphuric acid

production. The SO2 content should not be less than 4 vol. %for economic acid production. At SO2 contents below 1 vol.%simple scrubber solutions can be applied. And in the SO2-range of 2–4 vol. %, special solutions are required that arecostly either in terms of energy or chemicals.

We have investigated oxygen enrichment as it is used ina number of roasting plants. The data is shown in Table III.At an oxygen enrichment of 30 per cent the air needs to bepreheated to 280°C for autothermal roasting. No benefit isderived as the expense for the calcine cooler remainsunchanged. The SO2 content increases to 2–3 vol.%, which isstill insufficient for sulphuric acid production or, moreprecisely, for acid production without additional sulphurcombustion. The off-gas volume decreases considerably toonly 13 000 Nm³/h.

Taking all of the aforementioned possibilities into consid-eration, we find that preheating of the roasting air seems tobe the most profitable solution for sulphating roasting ofconcentrates with high copper and low sulphur contents. Therequired equipment is well known and is in operation innumerous Outotec fluid-bed plants. Roaster operation ispractically unchanged with slurry feeding at common solidcontents. The off-gas volume is low; however, it requires ascrubber solution for SO2 removal. The high water content atslurry feeding is supposed to promote the formation of coppersulphates. Feeding of a solid filter cake at 8 per cent moistureand temperature control by water addition would provide aprocess off-gas with lower water content; however, the off-gas composition is anyway quite similar to an operation withslurry feeding. In numerous pilot tests we could not discern aclear trend, whether slurry feeding supports the formation ofmetal sulphates compared to feeding of filter cake.

Sulphating roasting of copper-cobalt concentratesJournal

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The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy VOLUME 112 JUNE 2012 459 �

Table III

Case B – Design variables for a modified sulfatingroast

Input Output

Feed or calcine

Mass flow kg/h 15000 19000

Cu % 38 30

Fe % 3 2

Co % 3 2

S % 15 10

Moisture % 30–35

Process conditions:Feed = Concentrate BOperation with airRoasting air 24 000 at 330°C Nm3/hRoaster off-gas 30 000 Nm³/hGas flow to acid plant 21 000 Nm3/hSO2 (dry) 1–2 Vol-%Operation with oxygen-enriched airRoasting air 15000 at 280°C with 30% oxygen Nm3/hRoaster offgas 22 000 Nm³/hGas flow to acid plant 13 000 Nm3/hSO2 (dry) 2–3 Vol-%

Figure 6—Calcine cooler for roasting application

Air bundles

Calcine fromtoaster

Cooler

Secondary air toroaster

Secondary air forcalcine fluidization

Quench tank

Sulphating roasting of copper-cobalt concentrates

Test work and plant design

For exact plant design, roasting tests are necessary. Outotecoperates a number of fluid-bed test units in their R&D centrein Frankfurt. Pilot tests in continuous units permit detailedplant design provision of performance guarantees. Figure 7shows the pilot plant that was used in designing a number ofOutotec roasters. All Outotec gold roasters (Cortez and Carlinin the USA, Kalgoorlie in Australia, Minahasa in Indonesia,and Syama in Mali), as well as a number of copper and pyriteroasters, have been designed following tests conducted inthis plant. The pilot plant allows one to extract informationabout product quality and off-gas composition.

Leaching tests can either be carried out at our R&D centreor by the project owner. For the more common zinc and pyriteroasting applications, testwork is mostly not required as ourdatabase built up over the years permits us to design a plantwithout tests. Other applications, such as gold and copperroasting, are different. The number of built plants is fewerand the variation in feedstock materials is wider.

Outotec has built roasting furnaces with nozzle greatareas from 15 to 138 m². The number of plants for sulphatingroasting is low. Most have a furnace area of about 50 m² .Outotec has built roasters below 50 m², mostly for specificduties; however, these are no longer in operation.

Outotec build several modularized roasting furnaces inthe early years of their development. For specific projects itmight be better choosing a small furnace. It is importanttherefore to keep the ability not only to design and buildbigger plants, but also to develop tailor-made solutions foreconomic operation on a small scale.

References

1. PAWLEK, F. Metallhüttenkunde. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York, 1983.

2. PALPERI, M. and AALTONEN, O. Sulphatizing roasting and leaching of cobalt

ores at Outokumpu Oy. Journal of Metals, vol. 34, 1971. pp. 34–38. �

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460 JUNE 2012 VOLUME 112 The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Figure 7—Pilot plant for continuous roasting tests