采用高电流密度生产优质电积铜

塞洛维德（Cerro Verde）于1977年4月投产。原电积车间设计能力为年产阴极铜33000t，采用184A／m^2的电流密度，电流效率为84.5％。1994年该矿山并着手进行扩产，以增加产能至年产阴极铜48000t，采用250A／m^2的电流密度，电流效率为90％。到1997年，通过工艺的革新优化，并提高电流密度，使阴极铜的产量超过了该设计能力。2002年继续通过提高电流密度增加产量，电流密度达到370A／m^2。本文围绕着如何通过改进电解液的流量、成分和温度、电极几何尺寸、电解槽、添加剂、电解周期及操作实践以实现在提高阴极铜质量的同时达到较高生产能力进行讨论。

Production of quality electrowon copper with high current densities

Cerro Verde began operations in April 1977. The electrowinning tankhouse was designed to produce 33,000 metric tones per year of copper cathode operating with current density of 184 amps per square meter and 84.5 percent electrical current efficiency. In 1994 the mine undertook an expansion project to increase cathode production to 48,000 tonnes per year using a current density of 250 A/m^2 and 90% current efficiency. Cathode production surpassed this design by 1997 through innovative process optimization and increasing the current density. Production continued to increase with current densities reaching 370 A/m^2 in 2002. This paper discusses modifications to the tankhouse electrolyte flows, tenors and temperatures, electrode geometry changes, cell modifcations, smoothing agents, cycle times and operating practices which resulted in higher production levels while iimproving the copper cathode quality.