Investigation of Copper Extraction from Aqueous Sulfate Solution in a Rotating Disc Contactor

Maryam Kasaie,Hossein Bahmanyar,Mohammad A Moosavian

doi:10.5935/0103-5053.20150339

Maryam Kasaie, Hossein Bahmanyar + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5935/0103-5053.20150339

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Abstract

The extraction of copper from aqueous sulfate solution with new extractant Cupromex-3302 (active substance is the 5-nonylsalicylaldoxime) using a rotating disc contactor (RDC) was investigated. It was observed from batch experiments that the best results were obtained with the initial aqueous pH and concentration of Cupromex-3302 of 1.9 and 10% (v/v) respectively. In continuous experiments, the first critical rotor speed based on drop breakage probabilities was determined. Then the effects of rotor speed, dispersed and continuous phase flow rates on hydrodynamic parameters such as static hold-up, mean drop sizes and extraction efficiency were studied. The experimental results were compared with the ones obtained by the empirical correlations for prediction of the dispersed phase static hold-up and mean drop sizes in terms of the operating variables and the physical properties. The results of experiments proved the feasibility of operating the solvent extraction of copper from the aqueous solution using rotating disc contactor.

Highlights

Being copper extraction by hydroxime extractants dependent on the initial acidity of the aqueous solution, several studies were carried out in order to investigate the effect of the aqueous phase pH on copper extraction
Initial pH of aqueous phase was adjusted to different values ranging from 0.95-2.53, and extraction experiments were done by using 6, 8, 10 and 12% (v/v) Cupromex-3302 in kerosene as the organic phases to specify the best conditions of recovery of copper from aqueous sulfate solution
The comparison between the experimental results and the predicted values is shown in Figure 7, which reveals that this correlation is in good agreement with the experimental data

Summary

Introduction

In the last few years hydrometallurgical method, being a highly developed technology, is applied for about 20‐25% of the world’s copper production through solvent extraction followed by electrowinning processes.[1,2] Compared to pyrometalurgical method this approach has not disadvantages such as several drawbacks, including high energy consumption and the production of hazardous gases.[3]. The effects of operational variables such as rotor speed, dispersed and continuous phase flow rates on static hold‐up, drop size and extraction efficiency were investigated. Requiring Sauter mean drop diameter, d32, photographs of droplets were taken inside the column using a high resolution Canon G9 digital camera (12.1 Mpix, zoom lens 6× IS, 7.4-44.4 mm, 1:2.8-4.8) followed by analysis with AutoCAD software By using these photographs and rotor thickness (1 mm) as background reference distance inside the column, drops’ size was determined. Static hold-up is that part of the total hold-up which is trapped under the discs and cannot be obtained by shutdown procedure.[30] Most of the researchers have studied dynamic and total hold-up.[26,31,32] it can affect the droplet size, which is a significant parameter in liquid-liquid extraction affecting both hydrodynamics and mass transfer rate.

Results and Discussion

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Conclusions