Electrolyzer having increased contact specific surface area for the recovery of valuable metals

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrolyzer having increased contact specific surface area for the recovery of valuable metals, wherein the electrolyzer comprises: a housing having a rear end with an inlet port and a front end with an outlet port, and having an internal space with a downwardly inclined bottom; a plurality of anodes arranged within the housing such that each of the anodes divides the internal space of the housing in a widthwise direction; and a plurality of cathode units interposed between the anodes to divide the space between the adjacent anodes into two electrolytic spaces. The wastewater introduced through the inlet port sequentially passes through the plurality of electrolytic spaces such that valuable metals are electro-deposited to the cathode units and recovered. Subsequently, the wastewater is discharged through the outlet port.; The electrolyzer having increased contact specific surface area for the recovery of valuable metals according to the present invention is advantageous in that each of the cathode units has a second cathode, a first cathode, a third cathode, and cathode wires which fill the spaces among the first, third and second cathodes, to increase the contact specific surface area of the wastewater introduced into the electrolyzer so that valuable metals can be easily electro-deposited and recovered even from the wastewater containing a small amount of valuable metals.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to an electrolytic cell for recovering valuable metals with increased contact specific surface area, which can maximize the specific surface area of ​​electrodes in contact with electrolyzed wastewater, thereby improving electrolysis efficiency and expanding electrolysis space, and can be used in low-concentration wastewater. Valuable metals can also be effectively recovered by electrodeposition in wastewater. Background technique [0002] In general, valuable metals are present in electronic component scrap (Scrap) such as printed circuit boards (Printed Circuit Board) used in various electronic products, or spent catalysts discharged in large quantities from chemical factories, or due to The wastewater discharged from factories, fiber factories or other factories, and the wastewater generated during photographic development contain a large amount of heavy metals, so the reuse of such waste and wastewater, and the effective recov...

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Problems solved by technology

[0009] However, in such an existing electrolytic cell 100 with a structure of a cathode and an anode, since the specific surface area of ​​the above-mentioned cathode is not large, the area and time of contact between the wastewater in the electrolytic cell and the above-mentioned cathode are reduced, which hinders effective Main reasons for recycling valuable metals

[0010] Moreover, in low-concentration wastewater, that is, wastewater with a valuable metal content of less than 10 ppm, because the contacted specific surface area is very small, the electrodeposition of the above-mentioned valuable metals is difficult to recover, resulting in very low efficiency. The problem

[0011] That is, the reduction process occurs only on the surface of a single cathode electrode, so there is a problem that the reaction rate is limited, and for mass production, a plurality of electrolytic cells 100 are required, and there is also a problem that the electrolysis efficiency drops significantly over time

[0012] On the other hand, an electrode plate made of titanium (Ti) is generally used as an electrode. However, the above-mentioned titanium has the advantage of being insoluble in aqua regia or the like used for recovering electrodeposited valuable metals. Metals with high electrical conductivity are plated on the surface, or a combination of these metals is used

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