Proceedings of EMC 2017 1525 Metal droplet entrainment by solid particles in slags: a combined phase field model and experimental approach ir. Inge Bellemans a , ir. Vincent Cnockaert a , dr. Evelien De Wilde a,b , prof. dr. ir. Nele Moelans c , prof. dr. ir. Kim Verbeken a a Ghent University, Department of Materials, textiles and chemical engineering Technologiepark, 903 B-9052 Zwijnaarde (Ghent), Belgium b Umicore Group Research & Development Kasteelstraat 7 B-2250 Olen, Belgium c KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, box 2450 B-3001 Heverlee (Leuven), Belgium Keywords: Phase field model, Experiment, Metal droplet entrainment, Spinel, Slag Abstract Various pyrometallurgical industries (both primary and recycling) encounter production losses due to the mechanical entrainment of metallic droplets, i.e. the droplets are attached to solid particles in liquid slags. The attached metal cannot settle, decreasing the yield of the phase separation. This results in inadequate sedimentation and eventually production losses in e.g. industrial Cu smelters and Pb reduction melting furnaces. Experimental work on this topic remains challenging, but phase field simulations can circumvent this lack of experimental data and allow a more systematic evaluation on the role of different parameters on the observed phenomenon. However, simulations are best interpreted in combination with exper- iments. The performed experiments are used both for the input microstructure of the solid particles and to validate the simulation results. In the present work, a recently developed phase-field model to simulate the attachment of liquid metal droplets to solid particles in slags considering real microstructures of solid particles in liquid slags is extended to consider movement of the solid particles in the liquid slag. Furthermore, it is investigated which initialization method for the liquid metal droplets corresponds best to the experimental condi-