DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL SMART ANODE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ELECTROWINNING PROCESS

摘要

This paper presents performance data of a novel smart anode, MSA~(TM), for electrowinning of non-ferrous metals such as copper, zinc, nickel, and cobalt. The smart anode consists of a titanium substrate coated with a catalytic oxide layer prepared by thermal decomposition of a precursor solution at 400 °C or less. Such a low temperature decomposition produces amorphous or less crystalline oxide coatings comprising iridium oxide-based mixture or ruthenium oxide-based mixture. The application of the smart anode in electrowinning with constant current results in a remarkable reduction in cell voltage compared to other anodes, e.g., commercially available coated titanium electrodes and lead alloy electrodes. The test data has demonstrated that a maximum voltage reduction by ca. 30% is possible compared to lead alloy anodes for copper electrowinning. The smart anode also gives some additional merits in suppressing unwanted deposits on the anode; i.e., deposition of MnOOH, PbO_2, or CoOOH. The electrowinning with the smart anode is possible to be an environmentally friendly process with less energy consumption and less anode deposits.