Separation and Recovery of Copper from Nitric Acid Solution Containing Copper, Lead and Iron

摘要

Herein, we describe a study on the recovery of copper from a nitric acid solution containing copper, lead and iron. We removed the iron using a neutralization precipitation method after adjusting the pH of the solution to 1.8 at 80 degrees C. After the iron was removed, we used a solvent extraction method for recovery of copper using LIX 84 as an extractant. The experiment was conducted by changing various conditions such as the equilibrium pH, concentration of the extractant and the phase ratio. The results of the experiment confirmed that over 99% of the copper can be extracted using 10% LIX 84 at an equilibrium pH 2.0. Adjusting the phase ratio (A/O) to 4.0 when the concentration of the copper was 4.0 g/L through the McCabe-Thiele Diagram confirmed that over 99% of the copper was extracted by a 3-stage operation. Meanwhile, adjusting the phase ratio (O/A) to 3.0 using 2.0 M sulfuric acid as a stripping agent stripped 99% of the copper. Finally, we suggest the optimal process for recovering copper from a nitric waste solution.