Driven by the goal of “double carbon”, copper electrolysis industry is experiencing a profound change
from rough production to green manufacturing. During the cleaning process of copper particles in
traditional electrolysis tanks, manual operation is easy to cause heavy metal wastewater spillage,
acid mist fugitive and other problems, and a single production line may produce 3-5 tons of
copper-containing hazardous wastes every year. The new generation of fully automated cleaning
technology is reshaping the standard of clean production through closed-loop recycling, intelligent
regulation and other innovative designs. This article will deeply analyze the core logic of this
technology to achieve zero pollution, and reveal the environmental value behind it.
Pollution pain point of traditional process
Pollution problems in copper electrolysis production are mainly concentrated in three major areas:
Leakage of copper-containing wastewater: the electrolyte drips during manual cleaning, resulting in the
concentration of copper ions in the gutter water of the workshop exceeding the surface water standard by 200 times.
Acidic waste gas diffusion: open operation causes unorganized emission of sulfuric acid mist, PH value
monitoring data fluctuations of 1.5-3.0
Solid waste accumulation: copper particles mixed with electrolysis sludge form hazardous waste, and the
cost per ton of conventional landfill treatment exceeds 8,000 yuan.
Measured data from an enterprise with an annual output of 200,000 tons of electrolytic copper shows that
when using the traditional method, about 12% of copper particles are scattered during transit, resulting in
environmental protection treatment costs of up to 5.6 million yuan per year.
Triple breakthrough of zero pollution technology
Through systematic innovation, the fully automatic cleaning equipment has built a complete environmental
protection chain from source prevention and control to terminal treatment:
1. Closed dynamic recycling system
Vacuum negative pressure protection layer: the interface between titanium alloy suction nozzle and electrolyzer
adopts magnetic fluid sealing technology, forming a negative pressure environment of -0.07MPa during operation,
ensuring zero leakage of electrolyte.
Gas-solid separation optimization: dual-stage cyclone separation + ceramic membrane filtration combination,
copper particle recovery rate increased to 99.8%, residual dust concentration ≤ 2mg/m³.
Intelligent flow matching: automatically adjust the suction power according to the circulating volume of electrolyte, s
aving 34% energy compared with traditional equipment.
2. Exhaust gas treatment module
In-situ neutralization device: inject nano-scale calcium carbonate slurry into the suction pipe to neutralize the sulfuric
acid mist in real time, and the PH value of the export gas is stable at 6.5-7.5.
Condensation recovery technology: after two-stage condensation (5℃/-15℃), more than 90% of the water is reused
for electrolyte blending.
Online monitoring system: equipped with electrochemical sensors, uploading SO₂, PM2.5 and other data to the
environmental protection monitoring platform every 30 seconds.
3. Waste Resource Utilization Path
Gradient sorting process: Separate copper particles and electrolytic sludge precisely by vibration screening
(20 mesh/100 mesh/200 mesh).
Short flow reuse design: >0.5mm copper particles are returned to the melting furnace, and fine powder is
used to prepare copper sulfate crystals.
Hazardous waste reduction: industry cases show that the amount of hazardous waste generated has
dropped from 8.3 tons to 0.5 tons per month.
Key details to realize zero pollution
(1) Material revolution
TA10 titanium-palladium alloy is used for the parts in contact with acidic medium, which is 20 times more
corrosion-resistant than conventional 316L stainless steel.
The sealing ring uses perfluoroether rubber, with a life span of 12,000 hours in an acidic environment at 120℃.
(2) Intelligent control
The IoT edge computing module analyzes the equipment operation data in real time and warns the risk of
cartridge blockage 48 hours in advance.
Built-in 23 kinds of emergency handling procedures, in case of sudden power failure, automatically start
nitrogen purge to prevent electrolyte crystallization.
(3) Process coupling
Coupled with electrolyte purification system, the cleaning cycle matches the fluctuation curve of
copper ion concentration.
Adopting staggered peak operation strategy, power consumption peak is reduced by 41%.
Maintenance strategy for long-term operation
In order to ensure the continuous release of environmental benefits, a three-tier maintenance
system needs to be established:
Daily inspection
Daily inspection of seal integrity (using endoscopy to observe interface status)
Weekly testing of the lye reserve of the exhaust gas treatment module (maintain ≥ 80% capacity)
Preventive maintenance
Replacement of cyclone wear liners every 600 hours (mandatory replacement if wear thickness >3mm)
Quarterly calibration of PH sensors with three-point calibration using standard buffers (PH 4.0/7.0/9.2)
Intelligent Upgrade
Annual update of the control algorithm database to incorporate the latest environmental emission standards
Installation of vibration monitor, real-time tracking of motor bearing status, to avoid oil leakage and pollution.
Industry change and future outlook
Currently the technology has been successfully applied in a number of green factories, data show that:
Wastewater reuse rate has increased from 72% to 98%.
Workshop air quality reaches GBZ2.1-2019 standard
Carbon emissions reduced by 1.2kg per ton of copper production.
Future technology iteration directions include:
Biological exhaust gas treatment: introducing Thiobacillus biofilter tower to realize 100% biodegradation of sulfuric acid mist
High-value utilization of waste residue: development of 3D printing metal powder preparation process for copper particles
Digital twin system: building a virtual plant model to optimize the balance between cleaning up energy
consumption and environmental indicators
Conclusion
The environmental value of fully automated copper particle cleaning technology not only lies in the physical isolation
of pollutants, but also in the reconstruction of the material metabolic process of electrolytic copper production.
Through the closed-loop system of “recycling - regeneration - reuse”, enterprises can not only meet the stringent
environmental requirements, but also explore the resource value of hazardous waste. It is suggested that the
production unit should focus on the sealing performance, intelligent control level and resource utilization
ability of the system when selecting equipment, so as to realize the win-win situation of environmental
and economic benefits.