Análisis hidrodinámico de la inyección de partículas durante la refinación de plomo

Abstract

Pyro-refining is one of the techniques used in recycling lead. Two significant stages in theprocess are decopperization and desilverization, which are traditionally done by addingpowdered Sulfer and Zinc at the surface of the lead bath and then mixing it with a propeller.The efficiency of this process has been improved by using a submerged lance to injectthe reactants into the interior of the lead bath, but the hydrodynamics of this new methodhas not yet been studied until now. The aim of this study was to refine the techniquesfor injecting particles into lead baths by performing mathematical simulations using theCOMSOL 3.4 software. Residence and mixing times were produced for different injectionvelocities, and the simulation results for residence times were validated by experimentaldata obtained in the laboratory.