Center of Engineering Maintenance of Production of Polar Division of “Norilsk Nickel” MMC, Norilsk, Russia

E. V. Shulga, Chief Specialist, e-mail: shulgaev@nk.nornik.ru
A. I. Yurev, Executive Officer

R. R. Sadykov, Head of Laboratory
D. P. Kulikov, Chief Engineer

Copper Plant of Polar Division of “Norilsk Nickel” MMC, Norilsk, Russia

A. I. Devochkin, Chief Engineer

Laboratory and industrial testings were carried out for the estimation of possibility of obtaining of marketable copper sulphate in the capacity of additional products from electrolyte of copper electrolysis shop (Copper Plant of Polar Division of “Norilsk Nickel” MMC). There is substantiated, that marketable copper sulphate (63–67% of throughout extraction of copper into the end product), can be obtained by the following methods:
— partial evaporation of copper electrolyte (to the ratio of 1.5–1.6);
— crystallization of primary copper sulphate;
— following recrystallization.
It is possible to obtain this marketable copper sulphate as conditioned, according to the content of copper and free sulphuric acid. The most useful content of copper in copper sulphate is obtained in the crystallization and recrystallization temperatures of 10 ^оC, and in the range of densities of initial product solutions of 1.40–1.44 g/sm³. It is shown, that obtaining of marketable copper sulphate, which should match to the 2 quality of “B” grade (according to the State Standard 19347–99), is possible during the usage of combined temperature mode, primary crystallization with 20 ^оC and recrystallization with 10 ^оC. It is substantiated, that for the purpose of obtaining of qualitative recrystallized copper sulphate, the content of free sulphuric acid in primary copper sulphate should not exceed ~1.5%. The copper sulphate (18.7–22.1% of Cu; 1.17–1.95% of Ni and 2.85–5.85% of H₂SO₄) was obtained in marketable scales, during the evaporation of initial solution from the density of 1.242 g/sm³ to the density of 1.4 g/sm³. The temperature of this process was 61.7 ^оC, and the length of crystallization process was ~9 hours. There was also obtained the growth solution with 10.6–13.7 g/dm³ of Cu, 26.3–33.7 g/dm3 of Ni and 338– 495 g/dm³ of H₂SO₄.

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