Corrosion and protection of lead anodes in acidic copper sulphate solutions

Abstract

It is known that lead anodes used in the industrial extraction of copper by electrolysis (electrowinning) suffer corrosion as a result of accidental or intended current interruptions. In order to improve understanding of the corrosion and protection of such anodes, the effects of the concentrations of copper, sulphuric acid, cobalt, iron, manganese, chloride and an organic additive (guar) on the corrosion of lead have been studied by means of weight loss tests and surface analysis techniques (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy). The rate of corrosion of lead during current interruptions increases with increasing concentration of sulphuric acid and copper, whereas it decreases markedly in the presence of cobalt and iron and, to a lesser extent, in the presence of chloride and the organic additive. Manganese is the only impurity whose presence does not reduce the rate of corrosion; it is also the only element which precipitates in significant amounts on the lead anode surface under the conditions studied. A method is proposed to establish the optimum anodic protection current density during current interruptions in electrowinning cells. Three current density ranges have been found, of which the ‘high’ protection range could be caused by the degree of compactness acquired by the PbO2 layer at applied anodic current densities in excess of 60 A m-2.