National Research Development Corporation

Allen R Wright

Francis Goodridge

Raymond E Plimley

Keith Scott

An electrolyte containing 65 g/l zinc and 150 g/l Cu is purified in zinc, that is, the copper is removed, by causing the electrolyte to fluidize a bed 8 of 1/2 mm copper particles. The bed is fluidized by 25% to make it 42 cm deep. An anode 11 is disposed above the top of the bed. A cathode 9 is disposed part-way up the bed. Copper is electroplated onto the bed particles. Any zinc which may be electroplated onto the bed particles tends to redissolve with concomitant cementation, on the particles, of copper, which can be recovered. The electrolyte is thus eventually completely stripped of copper and can be used for zinc electrowinning.

Purifying mixed-cation electrolyte

A method of moving bed electrolysis, in which a packed bed comprising (at least superficially) conductive particles moves as a packed bed in electrolyte between two electrodes and in electronic contact with one of them, the particles emerging from the downstream end of the moving packed bed being transported, outside the electric field between the two electrodes, to a location from which they rejoin the moving packed bed at its upstream end or join the upstream end of a succeeding moving packed bed between two electrodes.

Growing community of inventors

Wallsend, United Kingdom

Allen R Wright