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How to remove copper from waste water

I am doing a project which requires me to use a new method to remove copper from my waste water. the objective is to dilute the copper until I am able to throw it away or recycle to sell. the aim is to reduce my cost for waste discharge. how am I suppose to go about it using electroplating method? the volume that I have to reach is 20000 ppm.

Lee S.
student on research project - Singapore
2004

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While the most common practice for removing copper from waste water is to filtrate after pH adjustments, I suppose you could use an old technique for reclaiming silver out of spent electroplating solutions.

You need a DC power supply, and two strips of metal (preferably stainless steel). Your negative plate in solution will be the cathode, and the positive will be the anode. The cathode in your experiment should attract positive copper ions out of solution, depositing a solid sheet of copper metal on the cathode.

Hope this helps,

Luke Chassereau
- Florence, South Carolina
2004

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? How much wastewater are you trying to treat. I work at a wastewater treatment facility and we do have a copper limit on our NPDES Permit. The facility I work at is rated at 1.2 MGD.

Thanks.

Nick Jastrab
Cresson WWTP - Cresson, Pennsylvania, USA
May 22, 2008