Extractive Metallurgy Division - New Tough Pitch Continuous Copper Melting and Casting Unit at Asarco's Perth Amboy Plant

The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
G. D. Storm J. R. Stone
Organization:
The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
Pages:
8
File Size:
860 KB
Publication Date:
Jan 1, 1961

Abstract

Design features and operating methods of ASARCO's new unit for the continuous melting and casting of tough pitch copper at Perth Amboy are described. Preliminary studies made for determinitzg economic feasibility and design details are also presented. Cathodes are preheated with oil and melted in an electric furnace at 40-ton per hr rate, from whence the molten copper is fed simultaneously to the wire bar casting wheel and the continuous casting of cakes and billets. In the early 1950's the copper refining furnaces at ASARCO's Perth Amboy plant reached a point where major expenditures would have to be made for replacement of the furnaces and the auxiliary equipment. The problem was whether to continue with the standard reverberatory furnaces or to consider continuous melting in electric furnaces. Reverberatory furnaces have been used for years in the copper industry and for some 50 years at the Perth Amboy plant. Reverberatory melting practice, however, imposes certain restrictions. First, labor costs are high, usually requiring three shifts per day. Secondly, they operate on a batch basis, the conventional operation being a 24-hr cycle including
Citation

APA: G. D. Storm J. R. Stone  (1961)  Extractive Metallurgy Division - New Tough Pitch Continuous Copper Melting and Casting Unit at Asarco's Perth Amboy Plant

MLA: G. D. Storm J. R. Stone Extractive Metallurgy Division - New Tough Pitch Continuous Copper Melting and Casting Unit at Asarco's Perth Amboy Plant. The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, 1961.

Export
Purchase this Article for $25.00

Create a Guest account to purchase this file
- or -
Log in to your existing Guest account