Recovery of Copper from Strong Chloride-based Solution

Strong chloride-based copper solutions were investigated for copper recovery by using aluminium scraps. From the recovery process, the reaction rate is consistently to be first order to cupric ion. The activation energy for the process calculated from the Arrhenius plot indicates a chemical controlled process. The immersion of aluminium scraps into prepared cupric and cuprous solutions created a clean and depressed aluminium surface morphology. It is found that cuprous solution cements higher purity of copper than cupric solution. The aluminium scrap surface area also contributes to the purity of cemented copper. For a sample of copper bearing spent etching bath containing 131.6 g L-1 copper, more than 99% copper was recovered with 94.4% purity.