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Abstract

Oxygen-activity measurements and sampling for chemical assay were carried out in a nickel flash smelting furnace and slag-cleaning electric furnace during industrial operation. In the primary Direct Outokumpu Nickel (DON) smelting furnace, which produces high-grade nickel matte, the oxygen activity and chemical compositions of the slag and matte were quite uniform throughout the settler and no differences in oxygen potential were found across the slag-matte interface. In the course of batch slag reduction by surface coke a clear oxygen-activity gradient developed in the slag layer, but chemical gradients in the non-foamy bath were small. The distribution coefficients of selected impurity elements in DON smelting are reported.

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