As an indispensable high-performance alloy raw material in modern industry, copper-nickel materials
play a key role in aerospace, ocean engineering, new energy and other fields. In recent years, with the
global industrial upgrading and tightening of environmental protection policies, copper-nickel smelting
technology continues to break through, and the industry is accelerating its transformation in the
direction of high efficiency, intelligence and greening. In this paper, we will discuss the core process,
technical difficulties and future development trend of copper-nickel smelting to provide reference
for industry practitioners.
The core process of copper-nickel material smelting
Copper and nickel symbiotic ore smelting process is complex, need to take into account the efficiency of
metal separation and comprehensive utilization of resources. At present, the mainstream technology
includes pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy and the combination of the two processes.
Pyrometallurgy: metal separation at high temperature
Pyrometallurgical smelting realizes the separation of copper and nickel through high-temperature smelting,
and the main process includes three stages: smelting, blowing and refining.
Smelting process: after pretreatment, the copper-nickel sulfide ore is melted at high temperature in the
oxygen-enriched smelting furnace, generating copper-nickel matte (mixed metal sulfide melt) and slag.
Blowing process: through the converter blowing, further separation of sulfur, iron and other impurities,
to obtain high-grade copper-nickel alloy.
Refining and purification: Electrolytic refining is the key step in the final purification, which can obtain
copper cathode and nickel plate with a purity of 99.99%.
Wet smelting: environmental protection and low-grade ore treatment program
Wet smelting extracts metals through acid leaching, extraction and other chemical methods, and is
suitable for low-grade ores or complex associated ores.
Acid leaching process: Sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid is used to dissolve copper and nickel metals
in the ore, forming a solution containing metal ions.
Solvent extraction: selective separation of copper and nickel ions using specific extractants to achieve
high purity metal recovery.
Electrodeposition purification: After the solution is purified, high purity metals are produced by
electrolytic deposition.
Combined process: maximizing the use of resources
Some smelters adopt the combined pyro-wet process, for example, the intermediate products of
pyro-smelting are purified twice by wet process, which significantly improves the metal recovery
rate and reduces energy consumption.
Technical breakthroughs and difficulties in the copper-nickel
smelting industry
Impurity element control technology
Copper and nickel ores are often accompanied by lead, arsenic, cobalt and other impurities, the separation
difficulty directly affects product quality. In recent years, through the optimization of melting temperature,
the development of new extractants, the industry has been able to control the impurity content in one
millionth level. For example, selective chlorination volatilization technology can efficiently remove
arsenic, reducing the pressure of subsequent environmental protection treatment.
Low-carbon smelting process innovation
Traditional pyrometallurgical smelting has high energy consumption and high carbon emissions,
and the industry is realizing carbon reduction through three major paths:
Oxygen-enriched smelting technology: boosting oxygen concentration to over 90%, reducing
fuel consumption by about 30%;
Waste heat power generation system: Recovering flue gas waste heat from the melting furnace
and converting it into electricity for production self-consumption;
Hydrogen-based reduction substitution: testing the use of hydrogen to replace coke as a reducing
agent, reducing carbon emissions from the source.
Intelligent production transformation
IoT and big data technologies are reshaping the smelting process:
Digital twin system: build a virtual model of the smelting furnace to simulate working conditions
and optimize parameters in real time;
Intelligent testing equipment: X-ray fluorescence analyzer (XRF) monitors metal composition
online with an accuracy of 0.01%;
Unmanned vehicle system: planning the material lifting path through AI algorithm, improving
operational efficiency and safety.
Future trends of copper and nickel material smelting industry
Accelerated popularization of green metallurgy technology
With the landing of global carbon tariff policy, smelting enterprises urgently need to build a green
production system:
Bio-metallurgical technology: Utilizing acidophilus and other microorganisms to leach metals, energy
consumption is only 1/5 of the traditional process;
Waste slag resourceization: extracting silicate building materials and rare metal by-products from smelting
slag to achieve the goal of zero-waste;
CCUS (carbon capture) application: pilot projects show that the cost of capturing and sequestering 1
ton of CO₂ has been reduced to less than US$50.
R&D boom in high-end alloy materials
Downstream industries are placing higher demands on copper-nickel alloy performance:
Corrosion-resistant alloys: add molybdenum, chromium and other elements to enhance the chlorine ion
corrosion resistance of marine engineering materials;
High temperature alloys: copper-nickel based alloys prepared by powder metallurgy process can maintain
strength in 1000℃ environment;
Functional coating materials: nanoscale copper-nickel composite coating has broad application prospects
in the field of heat dissipation of 5G base stations.
Opportunities for global industry chain restructuring
Geopolitical changes drive the change of resource supply pattern:
Laterite nickel mine development: Southeast Asian laterite nickel mine wet smelting project focuses on
putting into production, alleviating the bottleneck of sulfide ore resources;
Regionalization of supply chain: North America and EU accelerate the construction of local smelting
capacity, forcing technological innovation;
Increase in the proportion of recycled metal: waste electrical appliances, battery recycling system is perfect,
the supply of recycled copper and nickel increased by 12% annually.
Conclusion: technology-driven industrial upgrading road
The copper-nickel material smelting industry is in a critical period of transformation and upgrading. By
continuously optimizing the process, deepening the application of intelligence, and expanding the
boundaries of green technology, enterprises are not only able to cope with the dual challenges of
environmental protection and cost, but also open up new growth space in new energy, high-end
equipment manufacturing and other fields. In the future, the industry competition will focus on
technology research and development capabilities and the efficiency of the whole industry chain
synergy, only master the core technology of the enterprise, in order to occupy the commanding
heights in the global competition.