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Physical modelling of mass transfer in a Peirce-Smith converter

University of British Columbia

A 1/4 scale Plexiglas model of a copper converter has been used to measure the fraction of gas absorbed during horizontal gas injection. In this work, sulphur dioxide gas was injected into hydrogen peroxide solution under conditions where mass transfer in the gas phase was rate limited. The SO₂ absorption rate was measured as a function of the gas flow rate, tuyere submergence, number of tuyeres, and percent filling. The fraction of gas absorbed correlated well with the total trajectory length which included the spout height. It increased with tuyere submergence but decreased with the air flow rate and remained almost constant after a certain flow rate. The mass transfer parameter, k[sub SO₂], was computed from the results. It compared favourably with the work of previous investigators but could not be used to explain some of the results, especially, the effect of gas flow rate on the fraction of sulphur dioxide absorbed. Further analysis of the experimental results was based on bubble formation period and rise time. The fraction of gas absorbed increased with total residence time. About 74% of the injected gas was absorbed during the formation period. A mechanism to explain the overall absorption was proposed. An equation relating the absorption efficiency and the residence time was obtained for the physical model. This method was extended to the analysis of industrial data for the comparison of measured and predicted oxygen utilization efficiency.

Text

2010-08-25

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/27755

Materials Engineering

University of British Columbia

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