Effects of ultrasound on the electrochemical cementation of copper onto iron
Mohamed Aâtach1*, Miguel Antunes Simão1, and Stoyan Gaydardzhiev1 1 GeMMe – Minerals Engineering and Recycling, University of Liege, Allée de la Découverte 9, Sart-Tilman B52/3, 4000 Liege, Belgium ; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (M.A.); This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (M.A.S.); This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (S.G.) Correspondance: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Tel.: +323669123 ABSTRACT In the current study, results from the cementation of copper from a CuSO4 – based acidic solution using iron balls in silent conditions and under the application of low-frequency ultrasound (US) are reported. The influence of several parameters such as pH of solution, stirring speed, temperature, ultrasonic (US) frequency were evaluated. The results show that the use of ultrasound improves the kinetics and the maximum copper removal when compared to the mechanical stirring alone. In silent conditions, the rate of cementation was found to be the highest at 60 °C, pH 2.0, and 500 rpm with maximum Cu recovery of 83% after 120 min. Under the US-impact and with the same as previous parameters, this recovery took no more than 30 minutes to be achieved and the maximum obtained was 96% after 90 minutes.