There are two methods to produce primary copper: hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical. Copper concentrates, from which copper
matte is melted, constitute the charge at melting primary copper in the pyrometallurgical process. This process consists of a few stages, of
which the basic ones are roasting and smelting. Smelting process may be bath and flash. Slag from copper production, on the end of
process contain less 0,8%. It is treat as a waste or used other field, but only in a few friction. The slag amount for waste management or
storage equaled 11 741 – 16 011 million tons in 2011. This is a serious ecological problem. The following slags were investigated: slag
originated from the primary copper production process in the flash furnace of the Outtokumpuja Company in HM Głogów 2 (Sample S2):
the same slag after the copper removal performed according the up to now technology (Sample S1): slag originated from the primary
copper production process in the flash furnace of the Outtokumpuja Company in HM Głogów 2, after the copper removal performed
according the new technology (Sample S3). In practice, all tested slags satisfy the allowance criteria of storing on the dumping grounds of
wastes other than hazardous and neutral.
The aim of this study is to demonstrate the possibility of using moulding sands based on inorganic binders hardened in a microwave chamber in the technology of ablation casting of aluminium alloys. The essence of the ablation casting technology consists in this that a mould with a water-soluble binder is continuously washed with water immediately after being poured with liquid alloy until its complete erosion takes place. The application of an environmentally friendly inorganic binder improves the ecology of the whole process, while microwave hardening of moulding sands allows moulds to be made from the sand mixture containing only a small amount of binder.
The studies described in this article included microwave-hardened sand mixtures containing the addition of selected inorganic binders available on the market. The strength of the sands with selected binders added in an amount of 1.0; 1.5 and 2.0 parts by mass was tested. As a next step, the sand mixtures with the strength optimal for ablation casting technology, i.e. about 1.5 MPa, were selected and tested for the gas forming tendency. In the four selected sand mixtures, changes occurring in the samples during heating were traced. Tests also included mould response to the destructive effect of ablation medium, which consisted in the measurement of time necessary for moulds to disintegrate while washed with water. Tests have shown the possibility of using environmentally friendly, microwave-hardened moulding sands in ablation casting of aluminium alloys.