Treatment of complexed copper(II) solutions with electrochemical membrane processes

An electrochemical membrane process was used to treat complexed Cu-II solut ions of citric acid, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), and ethylenediaminetetraa cetic acid (EDTA). An equimolar solution of Cu-II and complexing agent was focused. The iridium oxide (IrO2/Ti) and Pt (Pt/Ti) coated on titanium were used as anode and cathode, respectively. The cation exchange membrane Neos epta CM-1 was adopted. Experiments were carried out at different current de nsities (18.5-139 A/m(2)), initial catholyte pH and Cu-II concentrations (0 .01-0.08 M), and initial anolyte NaNO3 concentrations (0.001-0.2 M). An eco nomically feasible current efficiency and recovery percentages of metals an d complexing agents could be achieved if the concentration of the complexed Cu-II was sufficiently high. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.