Copper electrowinning process
AssigneeUmicore AG & Co. KG
InventorsTom HENNEBEL, Hans GRADE, Daan HOFMAN, Frederik VERHAEGHE
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Abstract
The present invention concerns a copper electrowinning process suitable for the production of enhanced-quality cathodes from highly contaminated electrolytes. The process is performed in electrowinning cells including a plurality of anodes and cathodes, equipped with gas sparging elements at their bottom. It comprises the step of sparging gas across the cathodes, and is characterized in that the solution contains more than 100 mg/L of arsenic. The invention provides an alternative solution to the problem of cathode quality when dealing with highly contaminated electrolytes, in particular when containing high concentrations of arsenic.
Claims11
A process of electrowinning copper from an acidic copper sulfate solution, wherein the process is performed in electrowinning cells including a plurality of anodes and cathodes, equipped with gas sparging elements, the process comprising the step of sparging gas across the cathodes, wherein the solution comprises more than 100 mg/L of arsenic.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.