Roasting is a process of heating of sulphide ore to a high temperature in presence of air.

It is a step
of the processing of certain ores. More specifically, roasting is a metallurgical process involving gas–
solid reactions at elevated temperatures with the goal of purifying the metal component(s). Often
before roasting, the ore has already been partially purified, e.g. by froth flotation. The concentrate is
mixed with other materials to facilitate the process. The technology is useful but is also a serious
source of air pollution.[1]
Roasting consists of thermal gas–solid reactions, which can include oxidation, reduction,
chlorination, sulfation, and pyrohydrolysis. In roasting, the ore or ore concentrate is treated with very
hot air. This process is generally applied to sulfide minerals. During roasting, the sulfide is converted
to an oxide, and sulfur is released as sulfur dioxide, a gas. For the ores Cu2S (chalcocite) and ZnS
(sphalerite), balanced equations for the roasting are:
2 Cu2S + 3 O2 → 2 Cu2O + 2 SO2
2 ZnS + 3 O2 → 2 ZnO + 2 SO2
The gaseous product of sulfide roasting, sulfur dioxide (SO2) is often used to
produce sulfuric acid. Many sulfide minerals contain other components such as arsenic that
are released into the environment.
Up until the early 20th century, roasting was started by burning wood on top of ore. This
would raise the temperature of the ore to the point where its sulfur content would become its
source of fuel, and the roasting process could continue without external fuel sources. Early
sulfide roasting was practiced in this manner in "open hearth" roasters, which were manually
stirred (a practice called "rabbling") using rake-like tools to expose unroasted ore to oxygen
as the reaction proceeded.
This process released large amounts of acidic, metallic, and other toxic compounds. Results
of this include areas that even after 60–80 years are still largely lifeless, often exactly
corresponding to the area of the roast bed, some of which are hundreds of metres wide by
kilometres long. Roasting is an exothermic process.[2][3]

Contents

 1Roasting operations
o 1.1Oxidizing roasting
o 1.2Volatilizing roasting
o 1.3Chloridizing roasting
o 1.4Sulfating roasting
o 1.5Magnetic roasting
o 1.6Reduction roasting
o 1.7Sinter roasting
 2References

Roasting operations[edit]
 A reverberatory furnace for roasting tin ores

The following describe different forms of roasting:[4]

Oxidizing roasting[edit]
Oxidizing roasting, the most commonly practiced roasting process, involves heating the ore
in excess of air or oxygen, to burn out or replace the impurity element, generally sulfur,
partly or completely by oxygen. For sulfide roasting, the general reaction can be given by:
2MS (s) + 3O2 (g) -> 2MO (s) + 2SO2 (g)
Roasting the sulfide ore, until almost complete removal of the sulfur from the ore, results
in a dead roast.

Volatilizing roasting[edit]
Volatilizing roasting, involves careful oxidation at elevated temperatures of the ores, to
eliminate impurity elements in the form of their volatile oxides. Examples of such volatile
oxides include As2O3, Sb2O3, ZnO and sulfur oxides. Careful control of the oxygen
content in the roaster is necessary, as excessive oxidation forms non volatile oxides. In
Roasting control on oxygen content is necessary

Chloridizing roasting[edit]
Chloridizing roasting transforms certain metal compounds to chlorides, through
oxidation or reduction. Some metals such as uranium, titanium, beryllium and some rare
earths are processed in their chloride form. Certain forms of chloridizing roasting may be
represented by the overall reactions:
2NaCl + MS + 2O2 -> Na2SO4 + MCl,
4NaCl + 2MO + S2 + 3O2 -> 2Na2SO4 + 2MCl2
The first reaction represents the chlorination of a sulfide ore involving an
exothermic reaction. The second reaction involving an oxide ore is facilitated by
addition of elemental sulfur. Carbonate ores react in a similar manner as the
oxide ore, after decomposing to their oxide form at high temperature.

Sulfating roasting[edit]
Sulfating roasting oxidizes certain sulfide ores to sulfates in a controlled supply
of air to enable leaching of the sulfate for further processing.[citation needed]

Magnetic roasting[edit]
Magnetic roasting involves controlled roasting of the ore to convert it into a
magnetic form, thus enabling easy separation and processing in subsequent
steps. For example, controlled reduction of haematite (non magnetic Fe2O3)
to magnetite (magnetic Fe3O4).

Reduction roasting[edit]
Reduction roasting partially reduces an oxide ore before the actual smelting
process.

Sinter roasting[edit]
Sinter roasting involves heating the fine ores at high temperatures, where
simultaneous oxidation and agglomeration of the ores take place. For
example, lead sulfide ores are subjected to sinter roasting in a continuous
process after froth flotation to convert the fine ores to workable agglomerates
for further smelting operations.