DSA Titanium Anode and Lead Anode, Which is Better for Copper Electrowinning?

DSA Titanium Anode and Lead Anode, Which is Better for Copper Electrowinning?

The traditional anodes of choice in the electrowinning industry have been lead based anodes. However, these anodes display high energy consumption and low corrosion resistance during operation. These problems led to the investigation of other anode materials such as dimensionally stable anodes (DSAs), consisting of mixed metal oxide coatings on titanium substrates.

In electrowinning tests, copper deposits from the lead anode cell showed the presence of lead oxide. Furthermore, it was observed that, despite DSA mesh anodes exhibiting the lowest total energy consumption, it had the highest energy consumption per kilogram of copper produced. The DSA plate anode had the greatest current efficiency and therefore had the least energy consumption per kilogram of copper. It was also noted that DSA anodes of the same composition may exhibit different behaviors as this depends on the method of preparation of the anode itself. The presence of iron or manganese in the electrolyte affected cathode quality, current efficiency, led to voltage fluctuations and an increase in anode potentials.

In view of the reported problems of high energy consumption and corrosion associated with the conventional lead based anodes used in copper electrowinning, the dimensionally stable anodes (DSAs) may potentially be a good substitute. The research on DSAs suggests that there are advantages of using dimensionally stable anodes over lead based anodes.