Аннотация
The article presents the results of experimental cleaning of copper manufacture solutions from arsenic with pseudobrookite (Fe2TiO5). The stochastic-determined design of experiment at four levels was used to study the properties of pseudobrookite as an arsenic precipitator in copper sulphuric acid solutions. The following variable factors were selected: frequency rate of precipitator dispensing: 1–4; precipitator-to-arsenic ratio (Fe2TiO5 : As): (1÷2,5):1; process temperature (t, °C): 25–60; sulfuric acid concentration (H2SO4 g/l); 120–200; experiment duration (time, minutes): 15-60. The process of arsenic sedimentation from copper electrolyte was studied using the process solution of Kazakhmys Corporation LLC (Balkhash) with the following component contents, g/l: 50,7 Cu; 7,75 Ni; 9,83 As; 200,0 H2SO4, etc. X-ray and IR spectroscopy identified and confirmed the presence of arsenate ion in the solid sediment composition as a complex compound of iron hydroxysulphate arsenate and iron pyroarsenate. The plots of arsenic sedimentation rate versus studied factors were made to determine significant parameters (precipitator-to-arsenic ratio, working solution temperature and experiment duration) that determine the efficiency of arsenic extraction to a solid phase with pseudobrookite. The generalized formula for the mathematical dependence of the degree of arsenic sedimentation with pseudobrookite on the process conditions (Protodyakonov equation) was calculated. Optimal conditions for the process of copper electrolyte purification were determined where over 60 % of arsenic is extracted to the sediment. A new method for copper electrolyte cleaning from arsenic with pseudobookite was developed.