Foundry and engineering company Thos Begbie and Austrian engineering company Mettop have formed a strategic alliance to introduce a new patented cooling technology for metallurgical furnaces to Southern Africa.

The ionic liquid cooling technology (ILTEC) was developed by Mettop from 2009 to 2012 and is used as a cooling medium in the water-cooled copper elements in furnaces. It is a safer alternative to using water, which typically causes an explosion when hot liquid metal comes into contact with the water as in the case of leakages.

Thos Begbie CEO Edwin Dreyer estimates that there is at least one explosion a year at smelting plants throughout the world, owing to human error or wear on refractory linings, often resulting in fatalities.

Mettop founder and MD Andreas Filzwieser says, with the new process not using water, there will not be an explosion when the hot liquid metal comes into contact with the ionic fluid coolant.

“We had to develop and refine the correct type of ionic liquid for use in metallurgical smelters. The laboratory tests and the development of the technology were done in Austria. We then built a test facility at a copper smelter, in Germany, to confirm its advantages,” he says.

The ionic liquids are organic salts that have a wide liquidus range and melting points below 100 ºC. They allow for higher operating temperatures on the cooler face, thereby preventing hydration during the heating of the furnace and also avoiding condensation of corrosive materials by raising the dew point.

Filzwieser says this process can help smelter plants overcome safety issues. The new waterless process facilitates heat recovery, which will become more important worldwide. He adds that energy per ton, plant stoppages and financial losses can be reduced with this process.

He says Mettop’s technological partnership with Thos Begbie will be mutually beneficial as both companies share the same customer base.

“This process is developmental and new to Southern Africa, but we are prepared to undertake the development with clients. It is important for Mettop to have a South African partner that deals with clients worldwide to introduce this technology to the global pyrometallurgical industry,” says Dreyer.

A platinum-smelting company in Zimbabwe had a furnace blowout in December as a result of tap block, which is a leak in a tapping block that causes an explosion. It has shown interest in acquiring ILTEC, owing to the benefits of this technology.

Thos Begbie can assist in the marketing of this process and the education of the pyrometallurgy industry, he adds.

Filzwieser and Dreyer will present a paper on the new process at a tap block mining exhibition and conference to be held in Johannesburg from May 27 to 29.