Kinetics of the zinc slag-Fuming Process: part II. mathematical model

A mathematical model of zinc slag fuming has been formulated based on the kinetic conception of the process developed in Part I of this paper. Each of the major reaction zones in the furnace — the slag bath where reduction of zinc oxide and ferric oxide takes place and the tuyere gas column where oxidation of coal and ferrous oxide occurs — have been characterized mathematically. The two zones and the water-jacketed furnace wall have been linked by overall heat and mass balances. Insufficient information is available, however, to characterize quantitatively two of the important kinetic processes occurring in the furnace: the division of coal between entrainment in the slag, combustion in the tuyere gas column and bypass; and oxygen utilization. To overcome this problem the model has been fitted to the data from eleven industrial fuming cycles. Consistent values have been obtained for these kinetic parameters over five different fuming operations indicating that the kinetic conception of the process is sound. The results indicate that about 33 pct of the injected coal is entrained in the slag, 55 pet combusts in the tuyere gas column, and 12 pct bypasses the bath completely. Oxygen utilization has been found to be high and can be correlated to bath depth.