Ultra fast ultrasound-assisted decopperization from copper anode slime

An ultra fast decopperization method from the anode slime has been developed based on the ultrasound-assisted leaching. The effects of parameters such as ultrasound power, leaching time, sulfuric acid concentration and liquid/solid ratio were investigated. Under optimum conditions, the concentration of Cu in residue was only 2.64%. The removal efficiency increases considerably and the decopperization time was significantly shortened comparing with conventional method (>10%, 24 h). Se and Te have not been detected in lixivium, indicating the selective leaching of Cu. In addition, the mineralogical characteristics of the untreated anode slime and the residues after ultrasound-assisted decopperization are investigated. The results revealed that the increasing of decopperization efficiency was attributed to the change of the phase composition and the morphology and size of samples during ultrasound-assisted decopperization.