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How is electrowinning different from electrolytic refining of copper?
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copper processing
Molten copper being made into plates.
In the context of copper metallurgy, both electrolytic refining and electrowinning are processes used to produce high-purity copper, but they differ primarily in the source of the metal being recovered.
- Electrolytic Refining: This process uses copper anodes—typically produced from pyrometallurgical smelting—as the source of the metal. An electric current is passed through an electrolytic solution, causing copper to dissolve from the impure anode and deposit in a pure form onto a cathode starter sheet. Impurities, including precious metals, settle at the bottom of the cell as anode slimes.12
- Electrowinning: This process is used to recover copper that is already dissolved in a solution, typically from hydrometallurgical leaching operations. Instead of a copper anode, an insoluble anode (often made of lead) is used. The electric current removes the copper ions directly from the solution for deposition onto a cathode starter sheet.13
Both methods are highly effective, capable of producing cathode copper with a purity exceeding 99.9 percent.1