An efficient approach to utilize copper smelting slag: Separating nonferrous metals and reducing iron oxide at high temperature

Over 50 million tons of copper slag are produced worldwide annually. Stacking is currently the primary method used to treat copper slag, resulting in resource wastage and environmental issues. Using slag as a raw material in the steel industry is a reasonable solution. However, the presence of nonferrous metals degrades steel performance and corrodes smelting equipment, and the remaining slag poses environmental and sustainable challenges. Thus, this study focused on removal of nonferrous metals from copper slag and subsequent reduction of iron oxide. The experimental results showed that increasing the percentage of the chlorinating agent (calcium chloride), temperature, and duration, the removal percentage of copper initially increased linearly, then pla-teaued. The acidity coefficient had a marginal effect on copper removal percentage. The optimum chlorination roasting conditions were 13 % calcium chloride, 1373 K, and 0.5 h, resulting in removal percentages of 90.3 %, 81.9 %, and 82.7 % for copper, zinc, and lead, respectively. The appropriate oxygen partial pressure for chlo-rination roasting was 10-5-0.7 atm. The reduction percentage of iron oxide was approximately 82 % under roasting conditions of 1.5 h at 1373 K. Based on these results, a novel scheme for copper slag utilization is proposed that involves chlorination roasting for nonferrous metal removal, reduction roasting for iron oxide reduction, and melting to obtain molten iron and separate molten slag. The iron and slag are used for steel manufacturing and rock wool preparation, respectively. This scheme provides a promising way to efficiently use copper slag, which will reduce primary resource consumption and pollution.