Refinery bleed

Copper recovery from refinery bleed

Liberator circuits are critical in copper refineries to control copper and impurity levels in the electrolyte. However, these circuits are often plagued with issues such as poor-quality copper cathodes, large copper recycles, acid mist, potential for hazardous arsine generation, low-grade copper sludge, high energy consumption, and other dangers and inefficiencies.

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New revenue stream

Low working capital

Improved Safety

Better impurities control

No acid mist or arsine gas

Using advanced closed-cell technology, emew's copper liberators offer a fast, safe and efficient alternative to conventional copper refinery bleed technology. This innovative cell design improves copper and impurity control over a range of concentrations, resulting in a high-grade, saleable copper cathode from the refinery bleed. With improved energy and operational efficiencies, our technology delivers simpler processes and better financial returns, while reducing environmental impact.

compares

How emew compares to conventional metal recovery from copper refinery bleed

Using emew’s clean electrowinning technology for metal recovery, health and safety is greatly improved, with no handling of hazardous sludge, no risk of arsine exposure, no acid mist, no lead anodes and solid cathodes that are safe to handle. Additional value can be gained by using emew to recover high-purity nickel or nickel salts in addition to pure copper, resulting in a simpler, safer solution with higher value returns.

emew clean technology

Better operational efficiency with no cell sludge, no anodes, better impurities control and arsenic level control
Pure copper produced for sale on first pass, increasing smelter capacity
Additional revenue stream from nickel from bleed recovered as high-purity carbonate
Improved health and safety with no acid mist or arsine gas generation
30-70% energy savings and reduced reagent use

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Conventional liberators

Operational and safety issues from hazardous sludge formation and uncontrolled impurities
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Inconsistent output and higher operating costs with sludge recycle
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Loss of nickel value from bleed recovered as crude nickel sulfate
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Serious health and safety concerns from acid mist and potential arsine generation
Energy intensive electrolysis in the liberators and crystallization/ evaporation processes with higher acid consumption

case study

Replacement of copper liberators for White Pine copper refinery

Challenge:

Before implementing emew technology, the White Pine copper refinery used spent anodes to deposit liberator copper with impurities. These required shipping for reprocessing, leading to increased costs, maintenance and safety risks, including handling arsenic-laden materials and managing acid mist and toxic gasses.

Solution:

In 2007, the White Pine refinery installed a 720-cell emew system to replace their copper liberators. The emew plant operates in a fully closed mode, eliminating toxic gases and acid mist, without the requirement for heavy electrode handling. This on-site solution also eliminated the need for 2,750 metric tonnes of liberator cathode to undertake a 3,200 km round trip, driving significant efficiency, environmental and financial working capital improvements.

emew copper cathodes production from copper refinery bleed

Result:

The customer produced pure B115 grade copper on first use of the fully installed emew system, with additional cost-effective and environmentally friendly benefits:

85% reduction in transport for impure cathode
35% reduction in power consumption per kg of copper removed
4% increase in production, adding $30 million per year in copper value that was trapped in working capital transporting spent anodes back to the smelter

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