中国有色金属学报(英文版)
Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China
| Vol. 23 No. 7 July 2013 |
（1. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
2. Joint Research Institute of Xinjiang Nonferrous Metals Group and Central South University, Urumqi 830000, China）
Abstract:Cu and As were separated and recovered from copper electrolyte by multiple stage electrowinning, reduction with SO2 and evaporative crystallization. Experimental results showed that when the current density was 200 A/m2, the electrolyte temperature was 55 °C, the electrolyte circulation rate was about 10 mL/min and the final Cu concentration was higher than 25.88 g/L, the pure copper cathode was recovered. By adjusting the current density to 100 A/m2 and the electrolyte temperature to 65 °C, the removal rate of As was 18.25% when the Cu concentration decreased from 24.69 g/L to 0.42 g/L. After As(V) in Cu-depleted electrolyte was fully reduced to As(III) by SO2, the resultant solution was subjected to evaporative crystallization, then As2O3 was produced, and the recovery rate of As was 59.76%. The cathodic polarization curves demonstrated that both Cu2+ concentration and As(V) affect the limiting current of Cu2+ deposition.
Key words: copper electrolyte; copper cathode; arsenic; sulfur dioxide; reduction; electrowinning; crystallization
