Fundamentals of the refractory wear in an industrial anode furnace used in the copper-making process

This paper presents a combination of different useful techniques to identify the fundamentals of the infiltration and chemical degradation of the refractory used in the lining of an anode furnace for fire refining of blister copper. In practice, this work was carried out at the Atlantic Copper Smelter (Huelva; Spain) by a post-mortem study of the refractory used in a one-year campaign, and thermochemical calculations using the FactSage database. The combination of both techniques created enhanced value thanks to their synergy. The infiltrations and the formation of new phases in the reaction layer were identified using microstructural analyses. The nature of these infiltrations were identified; all the refractory brick samples had been substantially infiltrated by copper and slag elements (mainly copper and iron oxides). The new phases formed were the result of the complex chemical interaction between the slag and the constituent of the refractory. Additionally, copper was incorporated to the spinel. In order to propose a model to represent this complex process, thermochemical calculations were carried out to define a baseline to explain the microstructures obtained as a consequence of the interactions between the bath and the refractory.