Removal of electrolyte impurities from industrial electrolyte of electro-refining copper using green crystallization approach

Abstract

The presence of impurities in copper electrolytes causes high energy consumption in the electro-finishing process and reduces the quality of copper in the cathode. Impurities must be removed from the solution because as the concentration of impurities increases, current efficiency is reduced. This research is a fast, low-cost, efficient and easy way to modify arsenic, nickel, iron and lead impurities from industrial electrolytes using a green crystallization approach. In this method, when the air is blown into the electrolyte, the impurities precipitate out of the solution by adding H2O2 as an oxidant. This process is carried out in two stages and the results show that on average Cu, Ni, Fe, Pb and As are removed from the copper electrolyte, 82.1%, 91.8%, 92.4%, 87.2% and 46.5%, respectively. This paper explores the possibility of removing dissolved metal impurities from industrial copper refinery electrolytes by green crystallization approaches.