Improving cathode morphology at a copper electrowinning plant by optimizing Magnafloc 333 and chloride concentrations

Abstract

Electrowinning circuits normally use a number of additives in the electrolyte to promote smooth, compact deposits. These cathodes have the best levels of purity. When electrowinning is coupled to a solvent extraction operation, it is important to minimize the amount of surface-active additives used, as their presence tends to increase phase-disengagement times. In the present work the effects of Magnafloc 333 and chloride concentration were studied with the aim of minimizing the amounts currently being added, while producing an acceptable copper cathode morphology. Magnafloc 333 is a non-ionic polyacrylamide that promotes the plating of smooth, dense copper deposits with minimal impurities. Chloride is added to promote the growth of dense, fine-grained, low-impurity copper deposits on the cathode. A Hull cell was used for the test work. Optimum Magnafloc 333 and chloride concentrations for a synthetic plant electrolyte were found to be 0.01 g/L and 0.025 g/L, respectively. These concentrations were then used to plate laboratory-scale copper cathodes from synthetic and plant electrolytes. Scanning electron microscopy was used to analyse the morphology of the cathodes plated. Many polyhedral crystals were deposited from the synthetic electrolytes, but deposits from the plant electrolytes tended to be spherical, with a large degree of porosity at the lower Magnafloc 333 concentration of 0.01 g/L. Polyhedral deposits were associated with high-quality, smooth plated cathodes.