PI: Arup SenGupta
Co-PI(s): John Fox
University: Lehigh University
Industry partner: Purolite
On the energy and environment front, there is a global thrust toward the deployment of a greater number of electric vehicles run through renewable energy. Such electric vehicles would need a significantly increased supply of copper and consequently, copper demand will increase. The United States has the second largest deposit of copper ore (after Chile) but environmental regulations and difficulty in their compliance have stifled copper production. In nearly every mine, copper pyrites are accompanied by iron pyrites, and consequently, copper leachate streams are always accompanied by dissolved ferric ions or Fe3+. Separation of low-concentration copper streams from Fe3+ is challenging and that poses an extra burden on copper mining. In this work, we will investigate and evaluate the possibility of high-value copper separation from the background of dissolved iron.