Indium electrowinning study from sulfate aqueous solution using different metal cathodes

Abstract

Electrowinning represents a promising methodology for recovery of strategical, scarce metals. In this study, an indium electrowinning process using a sulfate electrolyte on stainless steel, nickel, titanium, aluminum and copper (SS, Ni, Ti, Al and Cu) cathodes was investigated. Firstly, cyclic voltammetry carried out at 15 mV/s scanning rate and 25 °C temperature evaluated the suitability of electrolyte and the surface reactivity on different metal cathodes. Subsequently, indium was deposited using a current density of 25 A/m2 for 22 h at 40 °C and pH 2.3. After electrowinning process, analysis of specific energy consumption (SEC), current efficiency (CE) morphological (SEM/EDX), and crystallographic (XRD) tests on obtained deposits were performed. Cyclic voltammetry results revealed that the chemical reagents of solution stabilize the indium reduction reaction, while Ni cathode showed the highest current intensity for reduction reaction followed by SS, Ti, Cu, and Al. With a significant CE and SEC performance, Ni and SS cathodes reached around 93 % CE and 1.67 kW h/kg SEC, respectively. Referring to Ti cathode, other optimization tests should be performed to enhance obtained results. After deposition process, different surface morphologies and different crystallinity degree can be observed for each deposit, being common the presence of surface defects. The findings of this investigation allowed to determine the most suitable cathode for indium electrowinning from sulfate electrolyte.