Home > JOGMEC's Activities > Technology Development and Technical Support (Metals) > Technologies for Exploiting, Smelting and Refining > Main Technologies : Decontamination and Recovery of Metals from Flue Dust at Copper Smelters
Decontamination and Recovery of Metals from Flue Dust at Copper Smelters
A cooperative research project with Chile, a major producer of nonferrous metals, is developing technology that supports effective and economical environmental preservation at smelters.
Cooperative Research with Chile
Chile is a major producer of copper. Mines there have responded to stricter regulation of sulfur oxides (SOx) by enhancing their ability to desulfurize the exhaust gases from Teniente smelting furnaces prior to emission. However, desulfurization has generated flue dust with a high content of hazardous substances, including arsenic. JOGMEC is cooperating with Chile to develop technology to decontaminate such flue dust and, at the same time, reduce treatment costs by recovering valuable metals, such as copper and zinc, using hydrometallurgical technology.
Specifically, we have conducted on-site surveys, experiments and research in Japan according to a five-year plan from fiscal 2001 through fiscal 2005 with a follow-up in fiscal 2006 subsidized by the new Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as one of its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) projects. A pilot plant to treat flue dust has been designed and constructed, and test operations are under way to enable comprehensive evaluation of the technologies and economics of this project.
The technological themes of this project are (1) efficient leaching of flue dust; (2) stable fixation of arsenic by synthesizing crystalline ferric arsenate; (3) efficient recovery of copper and zinc; and (4) treatment of wastewater discharged from the pilot plant. A dissolution chamber to leach out flue dust, a reaction chamber to immobilize arsenic and other facilities were constructed in fiscal 2003 and fiscal 2004 for use at the pilot plant. In fiscal 2005, a pilot plant was constructed at the Las Ventanas smelter and refinery in Chile to treat flue dust generated from the smelter and to enable comprehensive evaluation of the effects of the system.
Project Flow Chart
