Kennecott Process For Treating Copper Smelter Flue Dusts

Kennecott Minerals Company has developed a leach-hydrolysis route for treating flue dusts from copper smelters The flue dusts are acid leached in an oxygen atmosphere to solubilize copper and fix the arsenic, antimony, and bismuth as stable compounds Copper is recovered by cementation with Iron and the barren solution is recycled Molybdenum and other values may be recovered by modification of the basic flow sheet Results of bench scale and pilot plant tests are discussed in terms of the effect of operating parameters.