Pyrometallurgical recovery of valuable metals from flue dusts of copper smelter through lead alloy

Low-grade copper concentrates containing increased impurities such as As, Pb, and Zn are used in copper production. In copper smelting and converting processes, large amounts of flue dusts are collected from the waste heat boiler (WHB) and the electrostatic precipitator (ESP). The dusts consisting of Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Fe, Bi, and Ag are presented in the forms of sulphate, sulphide, and oxide. The complex combination of these minerals makes it difficult to recover the valuable metals from a single lead-reduction process. Different approaches have been compared through experimental studies and thermodynamic calculations to efficiently recover most of the valuable metals and obtain clean slag. It was found that leaching, oxidation, and reduction are essential steps to fix arsenic and recover valuable metals. Optimum conditions for high-temperature processes of oxidation and reduction have been proposed. Most of the Ag and Bi can be recovered from lead alloy