Copper Recovery Originating from Galvanic Industry (original) (raw)
Environmental regulations limit the presence of copper in the wastewater from industries to 3 mg/l; furthermore, copper is a rather expensive commodity. Consequently, recovery of this metal is both necessary and attractive. Electrowining techniques are commonly used to recover copper, but it cannot be used when the streams contain hydrocarbons such as the waste stream, Multibond, from company A. As a result, this company is force to send their waste stream abroad for treatment paying 1.32 Euro/kg of waste. The present project aims to recover copper via a hydrothermal process in the form of (99% pure) copper metal powder that can be sold to scrap industries in the area. The copper reduction will be achieved by combining a copper sulphate solution (copper II) waste stream and a carbohydrate waste stream under 12 bar and 185 o C in a Kenics static mixer. The accessibility and the low or no-price for the feedstocks, make this design even more attractive. The copper reduction plant consists mainly of two units: reaction and separation. Thus making it a very simple process. Furthermore, the recovery is >99% copper. This process has already been made a reality in countries such as Chile where copper is abundant and the main export commodity. Currently new sites for this process are being developed and have been patented around the world.
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