Participate in Furnace Tapping 2022

Furnace Tapping 2022 will be co-located with the TMS 2022 Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Anaheim, California. Your TMS2022 meeting registration will include access to Furnace Tapping's technical programming and proceedings.

Keynotes and Panel Discussion

Furnace Tapping programming will open on Monday and Tuesday morning with an invited keynote presentation, and a featured panel discussion will be held on Tuesday morning.

Keynote Presenters

Presenter: Merete Tangstad, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Presentation Title: "Controlled Tapping–The Research Project"
Date: February 28, 2022
Time: 8:40 a.m. to 9:25 a.m.

Presenter: Isabelle Nolet, Hatch
Presentation Title: "PGM-Ni-Cu Tapping: An Updated Industry Survey"
Date: March 1, 2022
Time: 8:05 a.m. to 8:50 a.m.

Panel Discussion

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Furnace Tapping
Date: Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Participants: Stanko Nikolic, Glencore Technology; Ryan Walton, Rio Tinto Kennecott; Christine Wenzl, RHI Magnesita; Stefan Schmidt, Aurubis AG; Harmen Oterdoom, Independent Consultant
This event will be held during the morning session of Furnace Tapping programming on Tuesday.

PubZone Networking Reception

Date: Monday, February 28
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Anaheim Marriott, Platinum Patio
All Furnace Tapping 2022 attendees are invited to join us for the PubZone Networking Reception on Monday evening, February 28. This event allows participants in the REWAS 2022 and Furnace Tapping symposia an opportunity to connect in a relaxed, casual setting at a local Anaheim restaurant. Drink tickets and light appetizers will be provided. You can purchase a ticket for $75 through the TMS2022 registration form by February 11. (Note: You must be 21 or older to attend. Please be prepared to present a valid photo ID at the event.)

About Furnace Tapping 2022

Many a metallurgist fell in love with pyrometallurgy after witnessing a smelter being tapped. There is something magical in the combination of light, energy, and danger that simultaneously stirs the primal instincts to ‘run for your life’ and ‘go closer and have a look.’

But tapping a smelter is not an easy task.

Much engineering goes into the design of the tap-hole. Due to the aggressive nature of the process, material selection is as important as layout. The design process kicks off with a set of design criteria, which needs to be revised as the results of laboratory, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and time-and-motion studies become available. The tap-hole life-cyle is taken into account with designers addressing the requirements for installation and operability as well as for maintenance. Matters such as online monitoring of the taphole wear, handling of liquid products, and extraction of fumes are all taken into account.

Though tap-hole life can be improved with proper design, a good design can be destroyed with incorrect tapping practices and equipment. Despite the harshness of the tapfloor environment, it requires precision equipment and operating practices. The design and maintenance of the drilling, tapping and plugging equipment, and materials plays an equally important role in tap-hole life and tapfloor safety, as does protective equipment. Operators want the tap-hole life to be as long as possible since tap-hole failure is often the cause for a reline—a very expensive exercise in an upcycle when the cost of a new lining is small compared to the loss in production. Managing the maintenance and reline schedule is a challenge with lessons often learned the hard way.

The first thing students are taught in pyrometallurgy courses is how to compile a mass and energy balance for a smelter. An accounting mass and energy balance is used not only to schedule furnace taps but also to make process decisions. Process variables measured during or after tapping are important inputs to a workable mass and energy balance.

Even though much has been done to make the tapping process as automatic as possible, tapping of smelters cannot be done without labor. Tap floor operators work in harsh environments where safety is of utmost importance. Selection of suitable personnel and intensive training is required.

No pyrometallurgical smelter can operate without some form of tapping system. It is the one thing all smelters have in common. A meeting point of science, technology, and skill.

So let us talk about it.

Proceedings Plans

A standalone proceedings volume is planned for this symposium. TMS2022 registrants will receive electronic access to this and other published conference proceedings with their registration fee.

Furnace 2022 Organizers

Joalet D. Steenkamp, MINTEK
Dean Gregurek, RHI Magnesita
Quinn Reynolds, Mintek
Gerardo Alvear
Hugo Joubert, Tenova Pyromet
Phillip J. Mackey, Worley