A Study on the Manufacture of the Cu Powder from Electrochemical Recovery of Waste Rinse Water at the Cu Electroplating Process

Abstract

A newly designed cyclone type electrolyzer was tested to recover the copper powder from the waste rinse water of Cu electroplating process. Polarization measurements were performed to investigate the electrochemical behavior of copper ions and limiting current density in waste rinse water from copper electroplating processes. Electrowinning was performed at room temperature and the electrolyte was strictly controlled to circulate with a linear velocity of more than 1 m/sec using magnetic pump. More than 99 percent of Cu ion was successfully recovered and the size of the recovered Cu powder ranges from 0.1-0.5 μm. The Cu powder mainly consisted of Cu₂O and Cu. It was easily reduced to pure Cu powder.