Statistical Analysis of the Distribution of Impurities during Copper Electrorefining

Electrolytic copper refining allows one to obtain high-purity copper, so analyzing the main ways impurities transition into electrolysis products is a relevant problem. Solving it makes it possible to control the process when changing the composition of raw materials and, as a result, the content of impurities in the anodes. In this work, on the basis of a complex analysis and synchronization of a large array of data on impurity concentrations in various industrial environments obtained on a series of commercial cells, the directions of the flow of impurities is determined and the relationship between the content of impurities in the different products of the electrolysis (slime, electrolyte, and copper cathode) is established. It is shown that the transition of impurities from one process medium (source) to another (receiver) occurs by four main schemes: linear increase, no visible dependence, the presence of the limit concentration in the receiver, and the presence of the threshold concentration in the source. The results of a statistical analysis of the distribution of six impurities (bismuth, arsenic, lead, sulfur, nickel, and silver) belonging to different groups are presented in four main pairs of the impurity source–receiver: anode–solution, anode–slime, slime–cathode, and solution–cathode. For all dependencies of the impurity concentration in the source on the content in the receiver, the coefficients of linear regression equations are determined and their significance is estimated. The coefficients make it possible to explain the pathways of the impurity transition observed in the commercial cells and predict the quality of cathode copper and the composition of slime when the anode composition changes. Calculations show that the accumulation of impurities in the cathodes is due to the occlusion of slime particles and the incomplete removal of the solution from the surface of commercial cathodes rather than electrochemical reactions. Attempts to improve and develop the technology of copper electrorefining should be focused on finding surfactants that would prevent the adsorption of suspended slime particles on the cathode surface, as well as on more completely washing the electrolyte off of them.