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US 8,093,442 B2Granted
Electrochemical removal of dissociable cyanides
AssigneeRio Tinto Alcan International Limited
InventorsJacques Labrie, Hugues Menard
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Abstract
The method of the invention provides means of destroying highly stable metal cyanide ions found in a solution, and converting the cyanide to harmless by-products. Contrary to conventional methods which merely complex the cyanide into a mechanically or physically removable complex, the present method destroys the cyanide found in the sample. The invention is directed to a method of destroying cyanide comprising providing a highly alkaline solution containing a metal cyanide ions; and subjecting the solution to electro-oxidation.
Claims12
A method of destroying cyanide comprising:
- providing a solution containing metal cyanide ions, said solution being at a pH between 9 and 11.5;
- and
- subjecting the solution to electro-oxidation in an electrolysis cell thereby destroying the metal cyanide ions and forming non-cyanidric compounds,
- said cell comprising a metal anode and a metal cathode, wherein said metal anode comprises copper, and wherein the electro-oxidation is performed under conditions to provide the formation of a Cu containing passivation layer on the copper of the metal anode.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.