Copper electrowinning from acid mine drainage: A case study from the closed mine “Cerovo”

Copper removal from acid mine drainage originating from closed copper mine “Cerovo” RTB Bor, Serbia and containing approximately 1.3 g dm −3 of copper and a very small amount of Fe 2+/Fe 3+ ions, has been successfully performed by the direct electrowinning method using either a porous copper sheet o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hazardous materials 2009-10, Vol.170 (2), p.716-721
Main Authors: Gorgievski, M., Božić, D., Stanković, V., Bogdanović, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acid mine drainage
Acids - chemistry
Algorithms
Applied sciences
Carbon
Carbon felt
Chemical engineering
Copper
Copper - analysis
Electric potential
Electrochemistry
Electrodes
Electrowinning
Electrowinning of copper
Exact sciences and technology
Fluidization
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Inert turbulence promoters
Iron - chemistry
Metals - analysis
Mines
Mining
Oxidation-Reduction
Pollution
Serbia
Three-dimensional electrode
Voltage
Water Pollution, Chemical - prevention & control
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Summary:Copper removal from acid mine drainage originating from closed copper mine “Cerovo” RTB Bor, Serbia and containing approximately 1.3 g dm −3 of copper and a very small amount of Fe 2+/Fe 3+ ions, has been successfully performed by the direct electrowinning method using either a porous copper sheet or carbon felt as the cathode. A cell with a fluidised bed of inert turbulent promoters, also used in this study, may be considered as unacceptable for the purpose view, having a cell voltage between 12 and 14 V. The cells used in the electrowinning experiments were compared in terms of cell voltage, pH and copper concentration. The results showed that it is possible to remove copper successfully from the mine waters with a high degree of electrowinning—higher than 92% and with a satisfactorily average current efficiency (>60%). Depending on the process time and the applied current, a final copper concentration less than 0.1 g dm −3 was achieved. The specific energy consumption was approximately 7 kWh kg −1 of deposited copper. A dense copper deposit was obtained when a three-dimensional electrode was used.
ISSN:0304-3894
1873-3336
DOI:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.04.135