Removal and recovery of copper via a galvanic cementation system - Part I: Single-pass reactor

A galvanic system for the removal of copper from aqueous solutions using a divided flow-through cell is proposed. The present study looks into the feasibility of removing copper from dilute electroplating rinse water and recovering it in metallic form by a galvanic cementation process. This process does not require an external supply of energy due to the spontaneous chemical reaction between the copper/iron couple. Therefore, this operation is attractive in reducing operating costs, especially when dealing with low ion concentrations and serves as an alternative to current wastewater treatments available. The performance of the proposed system was evaluated as a function of cathode potential, catholyte flow rates, initial copper(II) concentration and types of electrode materials used. Results have shown that the galvanic flow system can remove copper effectively below the maximum permissible level from simulated copper( II) solutions. For a sample of copper bearing rinse water with relatively low conductivity containing 74.2 mg L-1 copper, 81.2% removal of the copper was achieved using a reticulated vitreous carbon as cathode.