WhISPER

 

Title

Waterless Iron Silicate Production with Energy Recovery

Concept

In the pyrometallurgical copper smelting process the main product is copper, but there are other products generated in consequence of the extraction of the ore, this is the case of the Iron Silicates (commonly called copper slags) which are the largest co-product generated during the smelting and converting processes of the pyrometallurgical route: for every ton of copper production about 2.2 ton of copper slag is generated. The European copper sector generates approximately 5 million tons of iron silicates in the pyrometallurgical route in the EU, containing valuable metals and other compounds.  Traditionally, copper slags were considered as undesirable waste materials that had to be discarded at an additional cost. However, it can be used in several applications in the construction sector.

Participants

• Atlantic Copper S.L.U., Spain (Coordinator)
• Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven, Netherlands
• ResourceFull BVBA, Belgium
• Université de Bordeaux, France
• Zavod za gradbenistvo Slovenije (Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute), Slovenia