Method and apparatus for simultaneously separating volatile and

Abstract

A method and apparatus for simultaneously separating volatile metals, including zinc and lead, and non-volatile metals, including copper, from mixtures of metallic and metallic oxide and the like materials, includes a reactor having a lower, reactor, chamber, an upper, reflux, chamber and a vertically arranged, hollow shaft interconnecting the two chambers. The shaft is substantially filled with a mixture of pieces of metallic material, having minimal oxide content, and carbonaceous material, such as coke. The reactor chamber is intensely heated by a transferred arc plasma generator to provide sufficient heat energy which together with reducing gases cause a reducing reaction and melt the non-volatile copper and other metals which form a puddle upon the floor of the reaction chamber and to form a layer of slag covering the puddle, and simultaneously to vaporize the volatile zinc, lead and the like metals. The reflux chamber is maintained at a temperature and vapor pressure suitable to condense the lead vapor, but insufficient to condense zinc vapor. Thus, condensed lead gravity flows back down the shaft through the filling for deposit in the puddle. The zinc and any other uncondensed metal vapors are removed from the upper, reflux, chamber and are condensed in an external condenser to form a commercial grade zinc product.