In the field of non-ferrous metals, copper refining and refining is the core link to support the
electric power, electronics, construction and other industries. The traditional copper smelting
process has long faced bottlenecks such as high energy consumption, high pollution, low
recovery rate, etc., while the deep application of automation technology is promoting this
ancient industry to intelligent, refined, low-carbon direction. This paper will systematically
analyze the automation technology system of copper refining, revealing its subversive
value in process optimization, energy efficiency management, resource recovery and
other dimensions.
Technical pain points and motivation for upgrading of copper
refining process
Global copper ore grade continues to decline (average grade has been lower than 0.6%), smelting cost
pressure has increased, forcing technological change:
Pyrometallurgical smelting bottleneck:
Thermal efficiency of the smelting furnace is less than 70%, the energy consumption of tonnes of copper
is as high as 800-1200kWh, and the concentration of sulphur dioxide emission fluctuates between 800-2000mg/m³;
Limitations of wet smelting:
The leaching cycle lasts 5-7 days, and the recovery of copper ions is very low, which makes it very
difficult to recover copper ions. Wet smelting limitations: leaching cycle is as long as 5-7 days, copper ion r
ecovery rate is only 85%-90%, acid mist dispersion leads to accelerated corrosion of equipment;
Electrolytic refining short board:
manual monitoring of cathode plate deposition thickness error ±3mm, current efficiency is generally lower
than 93%, the residual rate of up to 15%-20%.
Automation transformation through the whole process data closed loop, to achieve dynamic optimization
of process parameters, to provide key technical support for the industry to break the game.
Copper smelting automation technology system construction
1. Intelligent ore pretreatment system
X-ray intelligent sorting:
adopts dual-energy X-ray transmission technology (DE-XRT) to identify the distribution of copper minerals
in the ore in real time, with the sorting accuracy reaching 95%, and the rejection rate of waste rock up to 40%;
Grain Size Adaptive Crushing:
dynamically adjusts the rotational speed of the crusher and the size of discharge opening based on the
feedback data from the laser particle size analyzer to crush ore to the optimal particle size of 0.5-5mm, which
is the most suitable size for copper. Based on the feedback data from the laser particle size analyzer, it
dynamically adjusts the speed of the crusher and the size of the discharge port, crushing the ore to the
optimal particle size range of 0.5-5mm, increasing the leaching reaction rate by 25%.
2. Intelligent control of the smelting process
Multi-phase melting pool modeling:
Through electromagnetic ultrasonic sensors and infrared thermography, the gas-liquid-solid three-phase flow
field model is constructed in the melting furnace, and the fluctuation range of the copper matte grade is
narrowed from ±5% to ±1.2%;
Oxygen-enriched combustion optimization:
Intelligent adjustment of the oxygen concentration to 28%-35%, fuel consumption is reduced by 18%, the
amount of flue gas is reduced by 30%, the steam recovery efficiency of the supporting waste heat boiler
breaks through 85%, and the steam recovery efficiency of the matching waste heat boiler exceeds 85%. 85%. 3.
3. Electrolytic refining digital twin system
cathode growth AI prediction:
adopts convolutional neural network (CNN) to analyze the image data of cathode plate, predicts the deposition
thickness 6 hours in advance, and the accuracy of automatic current density tuning reaches ±0.5A/m²;
dynamic compensation of pole spacing:
real-time monitoring of the pole plate spacing based on the laser rangefinder, and servomotor drive device to keep
the pole spacing error ＜0.3mm, and the stability of the tank voltage is improved by 40%. Dynamic
compensation of pole distance
4. Intelligent treatment of waste recycling
Precious metal recovery of anode sludge:
microwave digestion - ion exchange coupling process to achieve gold, silver recovery rate of >99%,
platinum group metal extraction cost reduction of 50%;
electrolyte self-purification system:
selective electrodialysis membrane separation of impurity ions such as As, Sb, etc., after purification of
the electrolyte copper ions fluctuations in the concentration of ions <± 2g / L, additive consumption
reduction of 30%.
Key equipment technology innovation direction
Intelligent spray gun for smelting furnace
Integrated oxygen concentration sensor and temperature probe, spray angle can be automatically
adjusted by 360°, and the copper direct yield is increased from 92% to 96%.
Electrolysis tank digital twin
Synchronously update the three-dimensional model of electrolyte flow field, temperature field, and
concentration field every 2 minutes, and the accuracy rate of identifying abnormal working
conditions is more than 98%.
AGV Intelligent Material Conveying
5G navigation + SLAM positioning technology realizes automatic transfer of cathode plates, and the
frequency of manual intervention is reduced from 10 times per hour to 2 times per day.
Practical Challenges of Automation Upgrade
Process Data Barriers
Pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical data formats are incompatible, and a unified data middleware
needs to be established to realize cross-process synergy.
Corrosion-resistant equipment needs
Sensor life in acidic environments is generally <6 months, need to develop new monitoring equipment
encapsulated in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
Talent ability fault
Traditional smelting engineers need to master Python data analysis, digital twin debugging and other
skills, transformation training cycle of more than 9 months.
Future Technology Evolution Path
Hydrogen-based Reductive Smelting
Green hydrogen replaces coke as a reducing agent, and CO2 emissions per ton of copper can be reduced
from 2.1 to 0.3 tons.
Quantum chemical simulation
Optimizing the molecular structure of leaching agent through quantum calculation, the copper leaching rate is
expected to break through the 98% theoretical limit.
Self-healing electrolyzer
Smart coating can actively release repair substances under electrolyte erosion, and the service life of cathode
plates is extended to more than 5 years.
Conclusion
Copper smelting automation is not only the upgrading of production tools, but also the starting point of value
reconstruction of the whole industrial chain. Through real-time optimization of smelting parameters, precise
control of electrolysis process, intelligent management of resource recycling and other technological innovations,
the enterprise can reduce the cost of processing tons of copper by 15%-20% while achieving 60% reduction in
sulfur dioxide emissions and zero discharge of heavy metal wastewater. With the deep penetration of 5G+industrial
Internet, digital twin and other technologies, copper smelting is moving from “experience-driven” to “data-driven”,
providing key materials for global energy transformation.