D) ELECTROLYSIS PROCESS TO EXTRACT THE COPPER FROM ORE

BACKGROUND

It’s hard to imagine a world without copper. We rely on copper for power, lighting, heating,
communications, water supply and transport. Copper makes our homes, schools and businesses
efficient, comfortable and decorative and it lasts for many years. As with all world resources, the
supply of copper from the ground is limited. Ever since copper was first mined, it has been
recycled. Today, nearly one third of demand for copper is met through recycling, helping to
conserve the earth’s resources. Due to the large demand of copper, it is extracted from its ore.
Copper minerals and ore are found throughout the Earth’s crust. They occur in both sedimentary
and igneous rocks. Copper ores are mostly sulphide base e.g. copper pyrite (CuFeS2). copper can
be extracted from its ore by sinking a vertical shaft into the Earth to an appropriate depth and
driving horizontal tunnels into the ore. 90% of ore is mined by this method. Ores near the surface
can be quarried after removal of the surface layers. But the ore contains a lot of impurities such as
gold, silver, tin, nickel, iron and platinum etc. These impurities are removed with the help of a
process called electrolytic refining. For this the ore is treated with dilute sulfuric acid. This trickles
slowly through the ore dissolving copper to form copper sulfate. The copper is recovered by
electrolysis.

Figure no 4: electrolysis process for copper extraction

Figure no 4 shows the electrolysis process to extract the copper from ore. The electrolyte is
copper sulphate solution which have blue color. Two electrodes are dip in the electrolyte and
connected to the power supply (battery). The anode (made up of stainless steel) connected to the
positive terminal of the battery and cathode (made up of copper) connected to the negative terminal
of the battery. When we apply voltage, copper atoms dissolve from the impure anode to form
copper ions. These migrate towards the cathodes where they are deposited back as pure copper
atoms. Hence, reduction occurs at cathode and oxidation occurs at anode.
Reactions:

At anode:
Cu Cu+2 + 2e-
At cathode:
Cu+2 + 2e- Cu
Applications:
This process has a wide application. Some of its uses are in
• Purification plants
• Quality assurance departments
• Research labs

OBJECTIVE

To separate or purify copper from ore.

PRINCIPLE

The copper ions from the electrolyte will deposited on cathode.

CHEMISTRY ANALYSIS

When we add copper ore in a dilute sulphuric acid, copper reacts with the sulphuric acid and
makes a blue solution which indicates the formation of copper sulphate solution and the
hydrogen gas evolves.
Reaction:
Cu (ore) + H2SO4 CuSO4 (blue color) + H2 (evolved)

CHEMICAL REQUIRED

The chemical required for the experiment is:

• Sulphuric acid (H2SO4)
 EQUIPMENTS REQUIIRED

The equipment’s required for the electrolysis process are:

• Beaker
• Stirrer
• Weight balance (for measuring the weight of copper ore)
• Filter paper
• Funnel
• Water bath
• Power supply
• Oven

PROCEDURE

The process for the experiment is as under:

• Take 5 grams of ore with the help of weight balance.
• Dissolve the ore in the sulphuric acid (enough to dissolve the ore)
• Mix it with the help of stirrer.
• Filter the solution by using filter paper and funnel.
• Collect the filtrate in a beaker left behind solution is copper sulphate.
• Put copper and stainless-steel rod (for making anode and cathode) in a beaker.
• Connect stainless-steel anode with the positive terminal of the power supply and copper
cathode with the negative terminal of the power supply.
• Apply 10V voltage.
• Reddish brown particles are of pure copper.

CALCULATIONS

• Mass of copper ore =m1= 5 grams

• Mass of filter paper before heating and filtration = 1.024 gram
• Mass of filter paper after heating and filtration = 4.762 grams
• Mass of impurities on filter paper =mass of filter paper after heating – mass of filter paper
before heating
= 4.762-1.024 = 3.738 grams
• Mass of pure copper strip = 41.62 grams
• Mass of copper deposited on the cathode = 41.78 – 41.62
= 0.16 grams
 𝑚2
• Percentage of impurities in copper ore = 𝑚1 × 100
3.738
= 5
× 100 = 74.76%
𝑚3
• Percentage of impurities in copper ore = 𝑚1
× 100
0.16
= 5
× 100 = 3.2%

RESULTS

The results for the experiment are:

• Percentage of impurities in the ore is 74.76
• Percentage of copper in the ore is 3.2

PRECAUTIONS

A person must follow the safety precaution while doing the experiment, otherwise he would face
many problems:
• Exothermic reaction happens in a beaker, so don’t touch it without heat resistance gloves.
• Sulphuric acid should not be splash on lab coat because it’s a very dangerous acid and burns
skin.
• Safety googles because sulphuric acid splashes may enter in your eyes and damage them.
• Face masks should be worn while performing experiment
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