Temperature dependence of the cathodic and anodic kinetics in a copper electrowinning cell based on reactive electrodialysis

Study of Copper Electrodeposition at a Very Low Temperature near the Freezing Point of Electrolyte

At or above room temperature, metal electrodeposits often feature coarse grains, uneven microstructure and high roughness with abnormal bulges. In this study, copper electrodeposits with abnormal properties were prepared in a sulfate bath at a low temperature near the freezing point of the electrolyte. The results showed that the average grain size of the copper featured an "increase-decrease" trend while decreasing the temperature form 5 °C to -5 °C, yielding a trend from 0.25 μm to 1 μm and then to 0.6 μm. In the early stage, the temperature does not change the three-dimensional continuous nucleation mode of deposited copper. When the nucleus density reaches saturation, the polarization caused by overpotential will act on the respective nucleation and crystal growth process twice, and finally exhibit a completely different trend than that at room temperature. This study may provide insights for breakthroughs in material properties from a temperature perspective.

III. Co-electrodeposition/removal of copper and nickel in a spouted electrochemical reactor

Results are presented of an investigation of co-electrodeposition of copper and nickel from acidic solution mixtures in a cylindrical spouted electrochemical reactor. The effects of solution pH, temperature, and applied current on metal removal/recovery rate, current efficiency, and corrosion of the deposited metals from the cathodic particles were examined under galvanostatic operation. The quantitative and qualitative behavior of co-electrodeposition of the two metals from their mixtures differs significantly from that of the individual single metal solutions. This is primarily attributed to the metal displacement reaction between Ni(0) and Cu(2+). This reaction effectively reduces copper corrosion, and amplifies that for nickel (at least at high concentrations). It also amplifies the separation of the deposition regimes of the two metals in time, which indicates that the recovery of each metal as a relatively pure deposit from the mixture is possible. It was also shown that nitrogen sparging considerably increases the observed net electrodeposition rates for both metals - considerably more so than from solutions with just the single metals alone. A numerical model of co-electrodeposition, corrosion, metal displacement, and mass transfer in the cylindrical spouted electrochemical reactor is presented that describes the behavior of the experimental copper and nickel removal data quite well.