Extraction of precious metals from copper anode mud

Extraction of precious metals from copper anode mud

             The chemical process of extracting precious metals from copper

anode mud first converts the precious metals in the copper anode mud

into water-soluble sulfates through sulfuric acid roasting, then evaporates

and recovers selenium, and then uses dilute acid to leach copper to dissolve

it in the liquid to form copper sulfate.

          Sodium chloride is then added to form silver chloride precipitation,

and sodium sulfite is reduced to recover silver. Then gold is reduced and

precipitated into gold powder after forming AuCl₄⁻ in a chlorine-containing

solution.

          The platinum and palladium removed from acid leaching are reduced,

dissolved, oxidized, and hydrolyzed, and then precipitated with ammonium

chloride to obtain sponge platinum and sponge palladium.

          Firstly, the process requires using a rotary furnace or a fluidized bed

roaster to sulphate roast the anode mud; additionally, the system must be

equipped with a selenium evaporation recovery device to efficiently capture

selenium.

         Next, leaching reactors and mixing tanks made of acid-resistant materials

are deployed, thereby ensuring that the aggressive chemical environment is safely

managed.

         Furthermore, filters or centrifuges are utilized for effective solid–liquid

separation, and subsequently, special sedimentation tanks and reduction reactors

are installed to precipitate and reduce the targeted metals. Moreover, delivery

pumps, pipelines, and liquid storage tanks are incorporated into the design to

guarantee continuous and controlled fluid movement.

        Consequently, after thoroughly analyzing the raw materials and designing the

refining plan, the equipment can be systematically sorted and calculated, which

ultimately enhances process efficiency and reliability.

Extraction of precious metals from copper anode mud