AP19175411 – Development of a comprehensive technology for intensifying the electrolysis process in the production of copper cathode
Objective of the project: Development of a comprehensive technology for intensifying electrolysis processes in the production of cathode copper, in order to reduce the cost of production of cathode copper by heap leaching, liquid extraction and electrolysis, through the development of recommendations for preventing the causes of increased energy consumption.
Relevance: In recent years, the requirements for the quality of the produced electrolytic copper have been increasing; in 2000, this issue was resolved by switching to a decrease in current density, in order to reduce dendritic formations and reduce the lead content in cathode copper. Currently, a current density of 230 A/m 2 has been achieved at a number of foreign plants , and at a plant in Cyprus, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd. is conducting experiments in increasing the current density to 260 A/m 2 . Achieving such high current densities means accelerating the electrolysis process is far from an easy task; it is solved in the following way. To maintain low specific energy consumption and prevent dangerous hydrolysis of antimony salts, the content of free sulfuric acid is increased to 200-230 g/l. At the same time, in order to avoid falling into the diffusion kinetics regime, the copper content in the solution is adjusted to 40-46 g/l; the temperature of the solution is raised to 60-65°.
In a number of foreign factories for the production of cathode copper, in order to accelerate the process of deposition of copper ions, they increase the current density from 190 A/m 2 to 260 A/m 2 , and study the effects of various combinations of surfactants in order to reduce dendritic growths. Of course, for the electrolysis process it would be better to work without these additives, but for quality control at very high current densities, it is necessary to add cathode copper sheets to smooth the surface.
Scientific adviser: Doctor of Ph.D., Yesirkegenov Meirbek Ibrahimovic
Results obtained: The conditions for the formation and suppression of dendritic growth during copper electrolysis were determined, and comprehensive physicochemical studies of materials were carried out. The composition of productive leaching solutions from the Aktogay deposit was analyzed, and the concentrations of major and impurity elements were established. The effect of impurities on extraction and electrolysis processes was evaluated, and methods were developed to reduce lead contamination in cathode copper to 0.1–0.2%. The corrosion behavior of lead anodes and its impact on energy consumption and process efficiency were investigated. The influence of special reagents and electrolysis parameters on dendrite formation, growth, and morphology was determined. As a result, effective technological solutions were proposed to reduce dendrite formation by up to 97.7–99.4%.
List of publications with links to them
1. Chepushtanova T. A. et al. Development of an Enhanced Method for Copper Extraction from Sulfuric Acid Solutions //Kompleksnoe Ispolzovanie Mineralnogo Syra= Complex use of mineral resources. – 2025. – Т. 334. – №. 3. – С. 99-109. https://doi.org/10.31643/2025/6445.32