INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE LA LAGUNA

ELECTROWINNING
OF COPPER
ELECTROMETALLURGY

María Nancy Álvarez Pino 17130250

Jose Luis Flores Pérez 16131023
Mauricio Rivas Guerrero 16131049
Mauricio Fraire Gallardo 16132024
Electrowinning
Electrowinning is the final process in the production of
high purity cathode copper. In EW the metallic copper is
recovered from an acidic copper sulphate solution
(CuSO4) by means of the electrolysis process by
immersing two electrodes (cathode and anode) in a
copper electrolytic solution.

Electrolytic solution:
It is a liquid solution that has the property of allowing the
passage of electric current. In the plant the electrolytic
solution is a mixture of water, sulfuric acid and copper
sulfate.
 Electrodes
The electrodes are metal plates that
are used to pass the electric current
through the electrolyte.

• The initial cathode (negative

charge), is a SAE 316L stainless
steel plate.

• The anode (positive charge), is a

hot-rolled lead-calcium-tin iron
plate.
 Electrodes
The stainless steel cathodes are where
the copper will deposit and they have
a deposition area of 1 m².

There are about 133 electrodes in a

single copper EW cell: 67 anodes and
66 cathodes.
The cells are electrically connected in
series and the individual cathodes are
connected in parallel in each cell.
 Electrolytic
cell process
The rich electrolyte from the
solvent extraction stages is filtered
and conditioned for the
electrowinning process; when the
copper concentration is 38.6
g/l, it is sent to the electrowinning
cells in the cell house.

The electrolytic cells are arranged

in a single section consisting of two
rows of 50 cells each, making a
total of 100 cells, each cell
contains 67 anodes and 66
cathodes.
 Electrolytic
cell process
The electrolyte to EW is pumped from the
electrolyte recirculation tank, to the power
line to EW cells, by the pumps. The total
electrolyte flow to the cells is 1,530 m3/h
approximately.

Most of the electrolyte flow

(approximately 90%), is pumped directly
to the cells, which constitutes a nominal
flow of 1 350 m3/h; the other part is
referred to the heat exchanger to reach a
temperature between 47°C to 50°C, with
a nominal flow of 150 m3/h approximately.
Electrolytic cell process
The electrolyte is distributed evenly across
the electrolytic cells and on the faces of the
cathodes thanks to the electrolyte
distributor frame.
As the electrolyte flows through the cell,
copper is electrolytically deposited on the
motherboard, and oxygen is released as a
gas in the anode. Copper is accumulated on
the surface of the motherboard for a period
of 7 days.
At the end of the 7-day deposition cycle, the
mother plates are harvested (removed) from
the cells and taken to the cathode release
machine, where the cathode copper sheets
are separated from the mother plates.
 Electrolytic cell
The normal process
voltage per cell is 2 volts for
a current density of 280 A/m2, with a
current efficiency of 92% to obtain a
99.999% pure copper quality.
The cathodes are connected to the
contact bar with negative load and the
anodes are connected to the contact
bar with positive load.
During a power outage or partial stop
condition, the backup rectifier will
supply a low current to the
electrocution cells, to prevent the
anodes from losing their lead oxide
layer. If there is not a small slow charge
flowing through the anode, the lead
oxide coating will come off, which
causes the anode to become passive. If
this happens, the EW of the adjacent
Electrochemist
ry of copper

The electrolysis process is

achieved by passing a
continuous electric current
between the electrodes (inert
but conductive anodes, and
cathodes), which are submerged
in a copper-rich electrolyte
(CuSO4, H2O, H2SO4)
 Electrochemis
try of copper
The copper ions (Cu ++) are
reduced, that is to say
neutralized in the cathode by
the electrons that flow
through it, depositing a layer
of metallic copper on the
surface of the stainless steel
motherboard (permanent
cathode).

The electrolytic deposition

reaction in the cathode is:
Electrochemistry of
copper

The anode reaction is completely

different. Gaseous oxygen is formed
in the inert anode by the
decomposition of water. Sulfate ions
(SO4-) are reduced at the anode,
immediately forming sulfuric acid
(H2SO4) and oxygen (O2) according to
the following reactions:
Electrochemist
ry of copper The global reaction is:

The net reaction for a cell is:

Faraday’s Law

The law of physical chemistry that

regulates electrolysis is Faraday’s Law.
Faraday’s Law is used to calculate the
amount of copper that will be theoretically
deposited in an electrowinning cell.
However, not all of the current available to
the electrowinning cell results in the
desired reaction that deposits copper in the
cathode. Some electrical energy is diverted
to secondary reactions.
For example, the main side reaction is the
ferric/ferrous junction (Fe3+/2+), in which
electrical energy is consumed by
oxidizing/reducing iron in the EW cell.
Current efficiency
The relationship between the actual
deposition and the theoretical deposition is
known as current efficiency.
Due to leakage or loss of current, chemical
resolution of the deposited copper and
secondary electrochemical reactions, the
copper that actually deposits is always less
than the theoretical copper calculated by the
Faraday Law.
 The current density is a
measure of the intensity of
application of electrical
energy per unit area and is
expressed in A/m2
In addition to the
decomposition voltage, the
electrolyte resistance,
resistance of the electrical
conductors and resistance of
the contacts must be
overcome, and an anodic and
cathodic overvoltage must be
applied to make the process
possible.

Current density and The total cell voltage for

electrowinning is in the
range of 2 to 2.5 v,
cell voltage compared only 0.2 - 0.25 v
for copper refining.
 Specific energy
consumption (SEC)
The electrical energy per ton of copper produced
is directly proportional to the cell voltage:

The energy consumed in an electro-collection

process is approximately 10 times the energy
consumed in an electro-refining process. It is
200 to 2,500 kW-h/t of energy.
 Optimal operating conditions
guarantee:

• Long cathode service life.

• Operational efficiency.
• Operational flexibility.
• Easy dismantling of the copper
deposit.
Optimal • Purity of the deposit.
electrowinning
conditions
The optimal conditions are as
follows:

• Copper content (35 - 40 g/L)

• Acid content (150 - 180 g/L)
• Cobalt concentration
(100 -150ppm, 150 if the
manganese content in the
electrolyte is high)
• Chloride (< than 30 ppm)
• Organic solution (< 1ppm)
• Iron (< 1,5g/L)
• Constant flow to cells
(at least 15 m³/h)
• Guartec Reagent
(150 - 250 g/ton of
deposited copper)
• Current Density (280
A/m2)
• Cell temperature (45ºC –
50ºC)
 Impurities

The porosity of the cathode deposits can lead to occlusion of the electrolyte in the
deposit (electrolyte trapped in the pores), which cannot be removed with washing.
The electrolyte trapped contributes impurities (iron and sulfate) to the final product.

The cathode impurities that are the most concerning (in decreasing order of concern)
are lead, iron, chloride and sulfate.

Electrolyte impurity levels must be strictly controlled. Impurities such as chloride,

iron and manganese are very harmful for copper EW. These impurities must be kept
below specific levels of concentration to assure optimal operation conditions.
 Chloride (must be less than 30 ppm)
Depending on other electrolyte conditions, the chlorides in the electrolyte can
attack the lead anode, cause the pitting of the stainless steel cathodes, get
trapped in the copper deposit and cause the generation of chlorine gas.

 Iron (must be less than 1.5 g/L)

As the concentration of iron in the electrolyte goes up, the current efficiency goes
down. The quality of the cathode improves, but if the cathode is of an already low
quality then the iron will be trapped, which leads to an increase of impurities in the
deposit

 Manganese (must be in low concentration)

Manganese can increase the value of the overpotential and reduce the corrosion
resistance of the lead anode, therefore decreasing its service life

 Organic solvent extraction solution (must be less than 1 ppm)

An organic solution is used in the solvent extraction process prior to the EW
process. This solution can affect the distribution of the copper crystal deposits,
which results in a brittle deposit with impurities. It can also stick to the stainless
steel plates and cause further damage to the copper deposit.
 Additives
 Guartec Reagent (150 to 250
g / t copper)
This additive can work as a
softening agent to achieve a high
quality copper deposit at a high
density current and low
electrolyte temperatures.

 Cobalt (more than 90 ppm)

Cobalt is used to lower the anode
overpotential.
 Copper
electrowinning
companies
video
Bibliograph https://www.academia.edu/36544958/PROCESOS
_ELECTRO_OBTENCION_DE_COBRE_EW
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