Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 6.3
Transfer from Matte at the Glogow
Smelter
Some impurities form a slag which
floats on the surface of the molten
liquid (like oil on water) and is easily
removed.
Photo Credit:
www.kghm.com
FIGURE 6.4
Anode Casting at the Glogow Smelter
While already virtually pure (in excess
of 99% copper), it is not really pure
enough for the international metal
market.
Photo Credit:
www.kghm.com
The name 'blister' copper comes from the fact that this final process produces bubbles of sul-
phur dioxide on the surface of the copper. The blister copper is cast into large slabs to be used
as the anodes in the next step - electro-refining (
Figure 6.4
). While blister copper is more
than 99% pure copper, it is not sufficiently pure for the international metal market. Electro-
refining of copper produces the high quality, high purity copper required by end users.
The name 'blister' copper comes
from the fact that this fi nal
process produces bubbles of
sulphur dioxide on the surface of
the copper.
Electro-refining
Even the best chemical method cannot remove all impurities from copper, but with electro-
refining (or electrolytic-refining) it is possible to produce 99.99% pure copper. In indus-
try, electrolysis is carried out on a massive scale in tank houses. Blister copper anodes are
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