The phase composition of nickel electrorefining sludge of MMC Norilsk Nickel enterprises has been studied. It is shown that the forms of platinum metals in sludge depend on the nomenclature of processed raw materials and conditions of anode production and electrorefining.
In Russia, copper-nickel sulfide ores are processed mainly by pyrometallurgical methods. One of the most important processes in pyrometallurgical ore processing is ore smelting. At Pechenganickel, the smelting of sulfide copper-nickel ore is performed in ore-thermal six-electrode furnaces. Ore-thermal smelting has the significant advantage of being able to process virtually any type of metallurgical feedstock, but it also has disadvantages. The main disadvantages are leakage of the unit, as a result of which it is a source of large emissions of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, besides, ore-thermal furnaces are extremely complicated objects from the automation point of view. At present, a plan for the reconstruction of Pechenganickel's pyrometallurgical operations is being developed. One of the components of this plan is the transition to briquette smelting. To study the peculiarities of melting briquetted raw materials in ore-thermal furnaces, a dynamic model of charge melting in these units has been developed. The main results of computational experiments based on the developed model are given in the proposed article.
A brief summary of the research and engineering work performed by professors, graduate students, and students of the Department of Furnaces, Control and Automation of Metallurgical Processes in 2000 is given. Two main directions of research activities were modeling of technological equipment for metal production and modeling of control systems for industrial metallurgical furnaces. In the first direction of research the following mathematical models were developed: converter conversion of smelting shop of Pechenganickel metallurgical plant; ore thermal smelting process; dissolution and liquation processes; waste water treatment using calcium hydrocarboaluminate. The technology of zinc-tin iron dust processing in a rotary kiln was also developed. A method of separating suspensions using LAROX PF press-filters was introduced. The second area of research includes works on development of spectral density method for synthesis of control systems with intermittent lag and on improvement of efficiency of manipulation of gas regimes in converters.
