Appendix G

Top Blown Rotary Converter

Top blown rotary converters (TBRCs) (Figure G.1) are used to:
(a) melt and oxidize (convert) Fe and S from granulated Pt-element-rich elec-
tric furnace FeNiCuS matte in preparation for matte leaching/
refining;
(b) melt, oxidize and reduce Ni alloy, sulfide and oxide solids to produce
impure Ni alloy ready for carbonyl refining to high-purity nickel; and,

Water-cooled
charging chute Flue

Track ring

Water-cooled
oxygen/natural
gas lance

Hood

Rotate drive motor

Thrust
roller
0 1 2 m

FIGURE G.1 Sketch of top blown rotary converter in Sudbury, Canada (Wiseman, Bale,
Chapman, & Martin, 1988). It operates at 14501650 C and produces about 50 tonnes of impure
nickel metal in 34 h. It normally operates 18 from horizontal at ~10 rpm.

579
580 Appendix G

(c) extract platinum group metals, gold and silver from refractories into
molten metallic lead in preparation for metal production.

G.1. DESCRIPTION (TABLE G.1)

The TBRC:
(a) rotates during melting, oxidation and reduction;
(b) tilts to allow feeding and pouring; and,
(c) blows hydrocarbons, air and oxygen through a stationary (but moveable)
lance into the rotating converter.
Hydrocarbon combustion provides heat for the process, air and oxygen
oxidize Fe and S; and incompletely combusted hydrocarbon gas removes
oxygen from the charge.

G.2. MELTING AND CONVERTING PGM-RICH MATTE

AT STILLWATER, MONTANA
The TBRCs at Stillwater:
(a) melt solidified PGM-rich electric furnace matte; and,
(b) oxidize the iron and sulfur in the molten matte to produce molten low-low
matte ready for leaching to product NiCuCo solution and PGM-rich
residue (~60%).
This residue is the principal product of the smelter. It is sent to a precious
metals refinery for high-purity metal production.
It does the same job as Peirce-Smith and Ausmelt converters do in South
African Pt smelters (see Chapter 35).

Appraisal
Stillwaters electric furnace matte production is too small to support a Peirce-
Smith converter. The TBRC allows a batch of granulated matte to be accu-
mulated, then melted and converted.

G.3. PREPARING CARBONYL REFINERY FEED FROM NICKEL

METAL, SULFIDE AND OXIDE SOLIDS AT SUDBURY, CANADA
The TBRCs in Sudbury are used to:
(a) melt nickel metal, sulfide and oxide solids;
(b) desulfurize the resulting molten product; and,
(c) reduce the desulfurized product to impure nickel, ready for carbonyl refining.
They inject their requisite hydrocarbon fuel, air and oxygen through a lance.
 Appendix G
TABLE G.1 Details of top blown rotary converters used in nickel and platinum group metal production

Company and location Vale Inco, Sudbury, Canada Stillwater Mining, Montana Acton Pt Refinery, London, England
Number of TBRCs 2 2 1

Usage (a) Melting metal, sulfide and (a) Melting granules of Pt-group- (a) Melting custom Pt-group-element-
oxide solids; element-rich electric furnace rich feed;
(b) oxidizing then reducing the matte; (b) adjusting composition of melted
melted charge (b) oxidizing Fe and S from the feed by oxidation/reduction
melted matte

Product Impure Ni alloy Low Fe, Pt-group element-rich matte Pt-group-rich alloy

Destination Carbonyl refining to high-purity (a) Leached; Aqua regia leach then sequential
nickel (b) residue (60% Pt-group elements) platinum group metal production
is sent Pt-group metal refineries

TBRC details

Dimensions ~3 m diameter  6 m long 8 m diameter  1.5 m long inside 0.25 m3 working volume
inside dimensions (Figure G.1) dimensions

Rotational speed ~10 rotations/minute 8e10 rotations/min 2 rotations/minute

Operating temperature 1450e1650 C

Batch size 40e70 tonnes

Tap to tap time 3e4 h

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582 Appendix G

G.4. MELTING PGM SOLIDS IN PLATINUM-GROUP

METAL REFINERIES
PGM refinery TBRCs can melt, then adjust the composition of a multiplicity of
feed solids much as described in Section G.3. They are used to make leach
feeds for subsequent leaching and metal-from-aqueous solution recovery.

G.5. TBRC PROBLEMS

The main problem with top blow rotary converters has been bearing, track rim
and drive wheel wear. It is minimized by avoiding:
(a) overly heavy feed batches;
(b) excessive rotational speed; and,
(c) unbalanced converter operation due to localized refractory wear or accre-
tion build-up.

REFERENCE
Wiseman, L. G., Bale, R. A., Chapman, E. T., & Martin, B. (1988). Incos Copper Cliff nickel
refinery. In G. P. Tyroler & C. A. Landolt (Eds.), Extractive metallurgy of nickel and cobalt
(pp. 373390). TMS.

SUGGESTED READING
Diaz, C. M., Landolt, C. A., Vahed, A., et al. (1988). A review of nickel pyrometallurgical
operations. In G. P. Tyroler & C. A. Landolt (Eds.), Extractive metallurgy of nickel and cobalt
(pp. 211239). TMS.
Donald, J. R., & Scholey, K. (2005). An overview of Incos Copper Cliff operations. In
J. Donald & R. Schonewille (Eds.), Nickel and cobalt 2005, challenges in extraction and
production (pp. 463464). CIM.
Mroczynski, S. A. (2009). TBRC slag flux control at the Copper Cliff nickel refinery. In J. Liu,
J. Peacey & M. Barati, et al. (Eds.), Pyrometallurgy of nickel and cobalt 2009, Proceedings of
the International Symposium (pp. 293304). CIM.
Musu, R., & Bell, J. A. E. (1979). P.T. Incos Indonesian nickel project. In D. J. I. Evans,
R. S. Shoemaker & H. Veltman (Eds.), International laterite symposium (pp. 300322).
Society of Mining Engineers of the AIME.
Thoburn, W. J., & Tyroler, P. M. (1979). Optimization of TBRC operation and control at
Incos Copper Cliff nickel refinery. In R. E. Johnson (Ed.), Copper and nickel converters
(pp. 274290). AIME.