TITLE:
Electrolysis of Converter Matte in Molten CaCl2-NaCl
AUTHORS:
Dan Wang, Changyuan Lu, Xingli Zou, Kai Zheng, Zhongfu Zhou, Xionggang Lu
KEYWORDS:
Converter Matte, Electro-Reduction, Nickel-Copper Alloy, Molten CaCl2-NaCl, Solid-State Electrochemistry
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering,
Vol.6 No.2,
February
12,
2018
ABSTRACT: The electrolytic production of nickel-copper alloy by electrochemical reduction of converter matte in molten salt has been investigated. The sintered solid porous pellets of Ni3S2, Cu2S and converter matte were electrolyzed at a voltage of 3.0 V in molten CaCl2-NaCl under the protection of argon gas at 700℃, respectively. The electro-reduction processes were investigated and the products were characterized. The results show that the molten salt electro-reduction process can be used to produce nickel, copper and nickel-copper alloy directly from Ni3S2, Cu2S and converter matte precursors in molten CaCl2-NaCl, respectively. CaS would be formed as the intermediate compound during the electro-reduction process, and then the formed CaS can be gradually decomposed and removed with the increase of the electrolysis time. The experimental results show that the molten salt electro-reduction process has the potential to be used for the reduction of sulfide minerals in molten CaCl2-NaCl.