Abstract

Real-time monitoring of the temperature of the reactions in copper smelters and specifically in the flash smelting conversion process is crucial to evaluate the operating process. To achieve this, a radiometric optical system based on a visible to near infrared spectrometer (VIS-NIR), configured with a specialized method is proposed as a sensor for BHP's Olympic Dam Direct-to-Blister flash smelting furnace, thus providing real time information to assist in the control of the process. The proposed sensor captures the irradiance from the surface of the molten slag over the flash furnace settler by means of an opto-mechanical probe to estimate the temperature using a multi-wavelength calculation method based on the Planck radiation model. Using thermocouples as a reference point measurement errors have been found in average to be below 15 degrees C.