Study of the Influence of the Granulation Modes of Cu2S Melt on the Granulometric and Structural Characteristics of Particles

This study presents the results of experiments conducted on the granulation of copper sulfide (Cu2S) melt. The granulometric characteristics of the samples are calculated as a function of the melt temperature. An increase in the melt temperature to 1,350°C promotes the formation of particles with a particle size of –10.0 +5.0 mm, and a decrease in the melt temperature to 1,250°C promotes the formation of particles with smaller size grades (i.e., –1.6 +1.0, –1.0 +0.63, and –0.63 +0.063 mm). With an increase in temperature, the mean squared deviation of particle size from the average value and the degree of polydispersity decreases to some extent. This study also estimates the influence of the melt temperature on the shape of the granules. The cooling and spheroidization times of particles during granulation at the melt temperatures of 1,250°C, 1,300°C, and 1,350°C were calculated. In the temperature range under consideration for all of the investigated size grades of particles, the cooling time exceeded the spheroidization time, which contributed to the formation of spherical particles. The melt temperature did not significantly affect the chemical composition of Cu2S granules. The main phase component of the granules was chalcosine (Cu2S) with a monoclinic lattice of more than 80%. Chalcosine (Cu2S) with a hexagonal lattice of 8% to 9% and digenite (Cu1.78S) with 4% to 12% were also identified. Dispersed inclusions of metallic copper were also detected.