Industrial experiment of copper electrolyte purification by copper arsenite

Abstract

Copper electrolyte was purified by copper arsenite that was prepared with As₂O₃. And electrolysis experiments of purified electrolyte were carried out at 235 and 305 A/m², respectively. The results show that the yield of copper arsenite is up to 98.64% when the molar ratio of Cu to As is 1.5 in the preparation of copper arsenite. The removal rates of Sb and Bi reach 74.11% and 65.60% respectively after copper arsenite is added in electrolyte. The concentrations of As, Sb and Bi in electrolyte nearly remain constant during electrolysis of 13 d. The appearances of cathode copper obtained at 235 and 305 A/m² are slippery and even, and the qualification rate is 100% according to the Chinese standard of high-pure cathode copper(GB/T467-97).

Keywords

copper arsenite / copper electrolyte / purification / electrolysis / industrial experiment