Contribution to electro-dylisis of synthetic Cu²⁺ from CuCl₂ in aqeous solutions

The electro-dialysis of copper chloride we conducted for electroplating of copper from copper chloride solutions. The concentrations of copper chloride were varied for each test (0.95g/L, 1.51 g/L and 4.51g/L). While other factors were controlled (current for each test was 0.45 A, each test was ran for 10 hours, the feed flow rate and the temperature of the make-up feed was kept constant. It was ensured that the process took place in acidic conditions. The membrane used was a microfiltration synthesized from polyvinylidene (PVDF) and polyvinylpyrrolidene (PVP) dissolved in N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and the nonwoven was used to give the membrane support, to increase its mechanical strength and its selectivity. Results showed that an increase in copper concentration in the electrolyte led to an increase in the copper electroplated although trends were noticed. The membrane showed an increase in fouling as the concentration of the feed increased. This could be reduced by reverse diffusion to remove the particles that clogged the membrane and blocked its pores. The current density and the selectivity of the membrane were affected by the corrosion of the electrode. Results have shown that the application of electro-dialysis is indeed and remain feasible and could lead to a breakthrough to other problems although much more research still need to be conducted to acquire much more information on how to use this technique to its best to sharpen the metallurgical industries and others.