The lead smelter at Teck's Trail Operations consists of three major furnaces: the KTVCET~(TM) furnace (slag and lead bullion), the continuous dressing furnace (bullion) and the #3 slag fuming furnace (slag). Management of slag and bullion inventories in this system is an important factor in maintaining process stability and maximizing metal recovery. A key goal in improving operational efficiencies has been to maximize charge size in the fuming furnace in order to extend the residence time, giving improved metals recoveries from slag. To achieve this, a bath level sensor was required to provide real time information on the slag and bullion levels for control of the tapping processes. A "time-of-flight" sensor was successfully tested which reliably reports the bath surface elevation, and has been used as the basis for a set of inventory management tools: slag tap time predictor, slag charge size estimator and a soft sensor for bullion level. Together, these have been used to implement a level control strategy for all three furnaces. The impact of this strategy on overall smelting efficiency and metals recoveries is discussed.
展开▼
