Liquid Membrane System for Extraction and Electrodeposition of Copper(II)

Abstract

The extraction of copper (II) ions using di (2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid – based liquid membranes during a galvanostatic electrodialysis-electrolysis process was studied. Effects of the current density, copper (II) and hydrochloric acid concentration in the feed solution, carrier and admixture concentration in the liquid membrane, type of acid in the catholyte were studied, and the optimal conditions were determined. A practically complete removal of copper (II) from the feed solution containing 0.01 M CuCl2 was achieved during 3.0 −4.0 h of electrodialysis. A possibility of effective transfer and electrodeposition of copper (II) from dilute solutions of sulfuric, hydrochloric, perchloric, nitric and acetic acids was shown. Adherent copper coatings with a fine-grained structure were obtained from dilute sulfuric acid solutions. A maximum stripping degree into the catholyte of 88 % and an electrodeposition degree of 73 % were achieved in the studied system.