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Scientific Article details

Title Recovery of copper sulfate from acidic mine waters by membrane crystallization
ID_Doc 8496
Authors Gómez, J; Giraldo, H; Piaggio, G; Barros, L; Quilaqueo, M; Quintero, YM; García, A; Santoro, S; Curcio, E; Estay, H
Title Recovery of copper sulfate from acidic mine waters by membrane crystallization
Year 2024
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.memsci.2024.122707
Abstract The recovery of valuable resources from acid mine waters has attracted high interest in moving forward to a circular economy approach. In this work, acidic solutions were processed by a MCr process for the first time, allowing the recovery of copper in the form of copper sulfate crystals. PP and PTFE membranes were investigated at different temperatures (40-80 degrees C), showing a remarkable water flux decrease over time due to a severe accumulation of crystals on the surface of both PP and PTFE membranes, favoring the heterogeneous crystallization of CuSO4 on the membrane surface instead to the acid solution bulk. The flowrate and acid concentration were also evaluated to find operational conditions that can control crystal accumulation. The high accumulation of crystals was observed for all operating conditions except for a highly acidic condition of 100 g/L acid, where the membrane visually responded by repelling the crystals accumulation on the surface. The membranes were wholly characterized, observing a dramatic impact on the membrane morphology. Results show that copper crystallization by membranes is challenging. Still, considering new membrane materials, operating conditions could allow the process's feasibility.
Author Keywords Membrane crystallization (MCr); Microporous hydrophobic membranes; Copper sulfate crystallization; Metal and water recovery; Acid mine drainage (AMD); Pregnant leach solutions
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:001222210000001
WoS Category Engineering, Chemical; Polymer Science
Research Area Engineering; Polymer Science
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