U.S. patent application number 13/501084 was filed with the patent office on 2012-08-02 for electrolyzer having increased contact specific surface area for the recovery of valuable metals.
Invention is credited to Sangyoup Suk.
Application Number | 20120193224 13/501084 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43409441 |
Filed Date | 2012-08-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120193224 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Suk; Sangyoup |
August 2, 2012 |
Electrolyzer Having Increased Contact Specific Surface Area for the
Recovery of Valuable Metals
Abstract
The present invention includes an electrolyzer having increased
contact specific surface area for the recovery of valuable metals
comprising a housing having a rear end with an inlet port, a front
end with an outlet port, an internal space with a downwardly
inclined bottom, a plurality of anodes arranged to divide the
internal space in a widthwise direction, and a plurality of cathode
units arranged to divide each space between adjacent anodes into
two electrolytic spaces. Wastewater is introduced through the inlet
port, sequentially passes through the electrolytic spaces, and is
discharged through the outlet port such that valuable metals are
recovered on the cathode units. Each of the cathode units has a
first, second, and third cathode and cathode wires which fill the
spaces among the first, third and second cathodes to increase the
contact specific surface area of the wastewater introduced into the
electrolyzer.
Inventors: |
Suk; Sangyoup; (Seoul,
KR) |
Family ID: |
43409441 |
Appl. No.: |
13/501084 |
Filed: |
October 11, 2010 |
PCT Filed: |
October 11, 2010 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2010/006937 |
371 Date: |
April 9, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
204/275.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C25C 7/00 20130101; C25C
1/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
204/275.1 |
International
Class: |
C25B 9/06 20060101
C25B009/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 13, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0097231 |
Claims
1. An electrolyzer having increased contact specific surface area
for the recovery of valuable metals, which has anodes and cathodes
and recovers valuable metals by electro-depositing the valuable
metals from wastewater by using electrolysis, the electrolyzer
comprising: a housing having a rear end with an inlet port, a front
end with an outlet port, and an internal space with a downwardly
inclined bottom; a plurality of anodes arranged within the housing
such that each of the anodes divides the internal space of the
housing in a widthwise direction; and a plurality of cathode units
interposed between the anodes to divide spaces between adjacent
anodes into two electrolytic spaces, wherein the wastewater
introduced through the inlet port sequentially passes through the
plurality of electrolytic spaces and is discharged through the
outlet port, such that valuable metals are electro-deposited on the
cathode units, wherein each of the cathode units includes, (a) a
first cathode disposed between the anodes such that the space
between adjacent anodes is divided into two electrolytic spaces,
formed in a plate structure dividing the internal space of the
housing in a width direction, and that forms an overflow channel
gap that allows wastewater to overflow through a space above the
cathode unit, (b) a second cathode that is formed in a plate shape
having a net structure at a predetermined distance from a first
side of the first cathode, (c) a third cathode that is formed in a
plate shape having a net structure at a predetermined distance from
a second side of the first cathode opposite the first side of the
first cathode, and (d) cathode wires that are formed in a lump
structure with an increase specific surface area that comes in
contact with wastewater and that fill a first space formed by the
second cathode and first cathode and a second space formed by the
third cathode and first cathode, wherein the valuable metals are
electro-deposited and recovered to the cathode units having the
cathode wires while wastewater introduced through the inlet port
sequentially passes through the electrolytic spaces.
2. The electrolyzer according to claim 1, wherein each of the
cathode units is formed in a plate structure dividing the internal
space of the housing in the width direction, is inserted into the
housing by sliding first and second sides of the cathode unit on
inner surfaces of the housing, and an overflow channel gap is
formed above each of the cathode units to allow wastewater to
overflow.
3. The electrolyzer according to claim 1, wherein the cathode wires
are disposed in close contact and have a coil spring shape.
4. The electrolyzer according to claim 1, wherein the cathode wires
have a pot scourer structure formed by gathering together adjacent
cathode wires.
5. The electrolyzer according to claim 1, wherein each of the
anodes is disposed between adjacent cathode units or disposed
between the inner wall of the front end or rear end of the housing
and the cathode unit, is formed in a plate structure dividing the
internal space of the housing in the width direction, is inserted
in the housing by sliding first and second sides of the anode on
inner surfaces of the housing, and has a lower end that forms a
wastewater discharge channel gap.
6. The electrolyzer according to claim 1, wherein the housing
further includes: an external body that has a shape with upper and
lower portions open, has the inlet port communicating with the
outside at an upper portion of the rear end, and has the outlet
port at an upper portion of the front end; a lower cap that is
combined with the lower portion of the external body and forms the
downwardly inclined bottom of the housing; and an upper cap that is
combined with the upper portion of the external body to form a top
of the housing and has one or more gas exhaust holes.
7. The electrolyzer according to claim 6, wherein the external body
further includes a plurality of first drain valves that
communicates with an upper portion of the electrolytic spaces at an
upper portion of a side wall.
8. The electrolyzer according to claim 6, wherein the lower cap
further includes a plurality of second drain valves that
communicate with lower portions of the electrolytic spaces.
9. The electrolyzer according to claim 6, wherein the housing
further includes fluid blocking balls in the internal space which
allow a gas to freely move and prevent wastewater from leaking by
closing the gas exhaust hole in accordance with an internal
pressure, and the upper cap further includes ball-retaining net
fences that are formed in net structures to control free movement
of the fluid blocking balls in the internal space of the housing by
supporting the fluid blocking balls.
10. The electrolyzer according to claim 1, wherein the anodes and
the cathodes of the cathode units are made of unplated titanium.
Description
CLAIM TO FOREIGN PRIORITY
[0001] The present application is a U.S. National Stage Application
filed under 35 U.S.C. 371 claiming priority from International
Application No. PCT/KR2010/006937, filed Oct. 11, 2010, which
claims the benefit of priority of Korean Application No.
10-2009-0097231, filed Oct. 13, 2009.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to an electrolyzer having an
increased contact surface area for recovery of valuable metals
which has an increased electrolytic efficiency obtained by
maximally increasing the specific surface areas of electrodes where
wastewater to be electrolyzed comes in contact, and which allows
valuable metals to be effectively electro-deposited and recovered
even from low-concentration wastewater.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In general, a large amount of heavy metals are contained in
wastewater generated when valuable metals are recovered for
recycling from electronic part scraps including printed circuit
boards used for various electronic products or from waste catalysts
usually generated in chemical factories, in wastewater from a
plating mill, a textile mill, or other mills, and in wastewater
generated when a photograph is developed. An important pending
question to address concerns creating value from waste resources,
preventing environmental pollution by recycling the wastewater, and
effectively recovering valuable metals that are worth recovering
from the wastewater.
[0004] In one method of recovering valuable metals, such as
platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), gold (Au), silver
(Ag), and copper (Cu), which includes processing wastewater
containing valuable metals, waste resources are crushed and
valuable metals are leached from the crushed waste resources with a
solvent, which is usually acid or alkali, and then chemical
deposition or electrolysis is used to recover the valuable
metals.
[0005] In addition to recovering valuable metals or heavy metals
contained in wastewater, the electrolysis method is used for
processing and producing common inorganic compounds or organic
compounds, but has disadvantages because it takes a long time to
perform the processes with the existing electrolysis apparatuses,
the efficiency is low, and the apparatuses occupy large spaces.
[0006] Meanwhile, a processing method that makes wastewater sludge
by performing chemical treatment and settling the sludge is
generally used as a wastewater processing method and is currently
commonly used in plating mills. The method causes severe
environmental pollution by discharging valuable metal components
contained in wastewater and the used water without recycling the
metal components or the used water, and a large expenditure is
necessary for the chemical treatment.
[0007] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of electrolyzer 100 in the
related art that electro-deposits and recovers valuable metals from
plating-wastewater or other wastewater containing valuable metals,
in which cylindrical inner electrode plate 130 and cylindrical
outer electrode plate 120 are disposed in cylindrical housing 110
with an internal space. Housing 110 has inlet port 112 through
which wastewater is introduced and outlet port 111.
[0008] Using this structure, power is supplied from an external
power source (not shown) and electricity flows to inner electrode
130 and outer electrodes 120. Inner electrode 130 and outer
electrode 120 may be arbitrarily assigned a polarity, in which one
of them has a negative polarity and the other has a positive
polarity.
[0009] Therefore, the cathode is supplied with electrons from the
power source and an electrochemical reduction reaction is generated
in wastewater in the electrolyzer, in which positive ions are
diffused to an electrode surface and reduced by receiving the
electrons, so that valuable metals adhere to the cathode and are
recovered.
[0010] However, in the electrolyzer 100 of the related art which
has one cathode and one anode, the specific surface area of the
cathode is not large. As a result the area and time in which the
wastewater in the electrolyzer comes in contact with the cathode
are small, which is a factor that prevents effective recovery of
the valuable metals.
[0011] Further, for low-concentration wastewater, that is,
wastewater containing valuable metals of 10 ppm or less, the
contact specific surface area is very small. As a result the
electro-deposition and recovery of the valuable metals are
difficult, and accordingly, the efficiency is very low.
[0012] In other words, since the reduction is generated only on the
surface of one cathode, the reaction speed is limited and a
plurality of electrolyzers 100 is necessary for mass production.
Also, the electrolysis efficiency largely decreases as time
passes.
[0013] An electrode plate made of titanium (Ti) is generally used
for an electrode, which has the advantage that titanium is not
dissolved by the nitrohydrochloric acid used for recovering the
electro-deposited valuable metals. However, because the electric
conductivity of titanium is low, for use the surface is plated with
metals or combinations of metals having high electric
conductivity.
[0014] Therefore, it is required to develop an electrolyzer having
a structure that makes it possible to increase electrolysis
efficiency for recovering valuable metals while having a structure
with a large specific surface area that comes in contact with
wastewater.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The present invention was developed in order to solve the
problems discussed above. An object of the present invention is to
provide an electrolyzer having increased contact specific surface
area for the recovery of valuable metals, the electrolyzer
including a housing having a rear end with an inlet port, a front
end with an outlet port, and an internal space with a downwardly
inclined bottom. The electrolyzer further includes a plurality of
anodes arranged within the housing such that each of the anodes
divides the internal space of the housing in a widthwise direction
and a plurality of cathode units interposed between the anodes to
divide the space between adjacent anodes into two electrolytic
spaces. Wastewater introduced through the inlet port sequentially
passes through the plurality of electrolytic spaces such that
valuable metals are electro-deposited to the cathode units and
recovered.
[0016] In order to achieve the object of the present invention, an
electrolyzer having increased contact specific surface area for the
recovery of valuable metals includes a housing having a rear end
with an inlet port, a front end with an outlet port, and an
internal space with a downwardly inclined bottom. The electrolyzer
further includes a plurality of anodes arranged within the housing
such that each of the anodes divides the internal space of the
housing in a widthwise direction and a plurality of cathode units
interposed between the anodes to divide the space between adjacent
anodes into two electrolytic spaces. Wastewater introduced through
the inlet port sequentially passes through the plurality of
electrolytic spaces such that valuable metals are electro-deposited
to the cathode units and recovered.
[0017] Each of the cathode units in an embodiment of the present
invention is formed in a plate structure dividing the internal
space of the housing in the width direction. Cathode units are
inserted into the housing by sliding both sides of the cathode unit
on the inner surface of the housing. An overflow channel gap is
defined above the cathode to allow wastewater to overflow.
[0018] Each of the cathode units includes a first cathode that is
disposed between the anodes such that the space between adjacent
anodes is divided into two electrolytic spaces. The first cathode
is formed in a plate structure dividing the internal space of the
housing in the width direction, and defines overflow channel space
d that allows wastewater to overflow through the space above
cathode unit 30. Each cathode unit further includes a second
cathode formed in a plate shape having a net structure at a
predetermined distance from one side of the first cathode, a third
cathode formed in a plate shape having a net structure at a
predetermined distance from the other side of the first cathode,
and cathode wires formed in a lump structure with an increased
specific surface area that comes in contact with wastewater. The
cathode wires fill a space defined by the first and second cathode
and a space defined by the first and third cathode. The valuable
metals are electro-deposited and recovered on the cathode units
having the cathode wires while wastewater introduced through the
inlet port sequentially passes through the electrolytic spaces.
[0019] The cathode wires are disposed in close contact with each
other in a coil spring shape.
[0020] The cathode wires have a pot scourer structure formed by
gathering adjacent cathode wires.
[0021] Each of the anodes of the present invention is disposed
between adjacent cathode units or disposed between the inner wall
of the front or rear end of the housing and a cathode unit. Each
anode is formed in a plate structure dividing the internal space of
the housing in the width direction, is inserted in the housing by
sliding both sides on the inner surfaces of the housing, and has a
lower end that defines a wastewater discharge channel gap.
[0022] The housing includes an external body that has a shape with
upper and lower portions open, an inlet port communicating with the
outside in an upper portion of the rear end, and an outlet port at
the upper portion of the front end, a lower cap that is joined with
the lower portion of the external body and forms the bottom of the
housing, and an upper cap that is joined with an upper portion of
external body 10a to form the top of the housing and has one or
more gas exhaust holes.
[0023] The external body further includes a plurality of first
drain valves that communicate with the upper portion of the
electrolytic space at an upper portion of a side wall.
[0024] The lower cap further includes a plurality of second drain
valves that communicate with lower portions of the electrolytic
spaces.
[0025] The housing further includes fluid blocking balls in the
internal space which allow gas to freely move and prevent
wastewater from leaking by closing the gas exhaust hole in
accordance with the internal pressure. The upper cap further
includes ball-retaining net fences formed in net structures to
control free movement of the fluid blocking balls in the internal
space of the housing by supporting the fluid blocking balls.
[0026] The anodes and the cathodes of the cathode units are made of
unplated titanium (Ti).
[0027] According to an electrolyzer having an increased contact
specific surface area for recovery of valuable metals, first it is
possible to increase the contact specific surface area of
wastewater introduced in the electrolyzer by using cathode units
each including a first, second, and third cathode and cathode wires
filling the spaces between the cathodes, such that it is possible
to easily electro-deposit and recover the valuable metals even from
wastewater containing a small amount of valuable metals.
[0028] Second it is possible to achieve high electrolysis
efficiency because the cathode units are disposed between the
anodes and a plurality of electrolytic spaces is defined, such that
valuable metals are electro-deposited while wastewater sequentially
passes through the electrolytic spaces.
[0029] Third, it is possible to increase stability of the
electrolyzer because gas generated in the electrolysis process is
discharged first by gas exhaust holes formed in the top of the
housing, and wastewater is prevented from leaking by using fluid
blocking balls that close the gas exhaust holes according to the
internal pressure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an electrolyzer for
recovering valuable metals according to the related art.
[0031] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing an embodiment
of an electrolyzer having an increased contact specific surface
area for recovering valuable metals according to the present
invention.
[0032] FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing an embodiment
of an electrolyzer having an increased contact specific surface
area for recovering valuable metals according to the present
invention.
[0033] FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing another
embodiment of an electrolyzer having an increased contact specific
surface area for recovering valuable metals according to the
present invention.
[0034] FIG. 5 is a plan view showing another embodiment of an
electrolyzer having an increased contact specific surface area for
recovering valuable metals according to the present invention.
[0035] FIGS. 6a and 6b are views showing embodiments of a cathode
wire that is applied to an electrolyzer having an increased contact
specific surface area for recovering valuable metals according to
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0036] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention
are described with reference to the accompanying drawings such that
those skilled in the art can easily implement the present
invention.
[0037] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing an embodiment
of an electrolyzer having an increased contact specific surface
area for recovering valuable metals according to the present
invention. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing an
embodiment of an electrolyzer having an increased contact specific
surface area for recovering valuable metals according to the
present invention. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing an
electrolyzer having an increased contact specific surface area for
recovering valuable metals according to the present invention. FIG.
5 is a plan view showing an electrolyzer having an increased
contact specific surface area for recovering valuable metals
according to the present invention. The present invention is
described hereafter with reference to FIGS. 2-5.
[0038] The present invention relates to an electrolyzer that has
anode and cathode electrodes and recovers valuable metals in
wastewater by electro-depositing using electrolysis. The
electrolyzer includes a housing having a rear end with an inlet
port, a front end with an outlet port, and an internal space with a
downwardly inclined bottom. The electrolyzer further includes a
plurality of anodes arranged within the housing such that each of
the anodes divides the internal space of the housing in a widthwise
direction and a plurality of cathode units interposed between the
anodes to divide the space between adjacent anodes into two
electrolytic spaces.
[0039] Wastewater introduced through the inlet port sequentially
passes through the plurality of electrolytic spaces such that
valuable metals are electro-deposited to the cathode units and
recovered.
[0040] The housing of the present invention may further have gas
exhaust holes through the top. Accordingly, gas is discharged
through the gas exhaust hole and discharged to the outside through
the outlet port.
[0041] As shown in the figures, electrolyzer 1 having an increased
contact specific surface area for recovering valuable metals
according to the present invention is configured to increase
electrolysis efficiency by maximally increasing the specific
surface areas of the electrodes that wastewater introduced into
electrolyzer 1 comes in contact with such that valuable metals,
which can be recycled from plating-wastewater or wastewater
containing valuable metals, can be efficiently electro-deposited
and recovered. The electrolyzer is further configured to
efficiently electro-deposit and recover valuable metals even from
wastewater containing a small amount of valuable metals by
increasing the electrolytic space.
[0042] For this configuration, electrolyzer 1 for recovering
valuable metals according to the present invention includes a
plurality of anodes 20 disposed at predetermined distances in a
housing and cathode units 30 disposed between two adjacent anodes
20 to form electrolytic spaces together with the anodes and where
valuable metals are electro-deposited, as power is supplied, in
order to electro-deposit the valuable metals in wastewater by using
electrolysis with anode and cathode electrodes.
[0043] The housing 10 has an internal space defined by inlet port
11 through which wastewater is introduced at the rear end, outlet
port 12 at the front end, and gas exhaust holes 13 at the top and
which provides a space where the wastewater is electrolyzed.
Preferably, inlet port 11 may be formed through an upper surface of
the rear end of housing 10, outlet port 12 may be formed in an
upper portion of the front end, and gas exhaust holes 13 may be
formed through the top of housing 10.
[0044] Cathode units 30 each divide each of the spaces between the
anodes and cathodes into two electrolytic spaces A.
[0045] Anodes 20 are disposed in the internal space of housing 10
and divide the internal space in the width direction.
[0046] Electrolyzer 1 for recovering valuable metals is configured
to allow valuable metals in wastewater introduced through the inlet
port of the housing to be recovered by being electro-deposited to
cathode units 30 while the wastewater sequentially passes through
electrolytic spaces A.
[0047] Gas generated in the electro-deposition process, that is the
electrolysis process in the electrolytic spaces, is discharged to
the outside of housing 10 through gas exhaust holes 13.
[0048] Wastewater with the valuable metals recovered is discharged
to the outside through outlet port 12 of housing 10.
[0049] Gas exhaust holes 13 are provided to discharge first the gas
generated in the electrolysis process in housing 10 that fails to
come out of the internal space of housing 10 and remains therein
while the wastewater passes through electrolytic spaces A.
[0050] This is necessary in order to prevent damage to electrolyzer
1 and the possibility of an accident due to the gas remaining in
the internal space.
[0051] Anodes 20 and cathode units 30 are connected to an external
power source (not shown) through electrode tips protruding outward
from housing 10, as in the technology that is commonly known in the
art, and supplied with power, and show a positive charge and a
negative charge, respectively. Preferably, housing 10 with
protruding electrode tips has a structure that prevents wastewater
from leaking outside.
[0052] In the embodiments shown in the figures, housing 10 may be
formed in a box shape having an internal space and declining from
the upper portion of the rear end to the lower portion of the front
end.
[0053] In this case, anodes 20 and cathode units 30 may be formed
in plate shapes that divide the internal space of housing 10 in the
width direction.
[0054] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of cathode units 30 in an
embodiment of the present invention is formed in a plate structure
dividing the internal space of housing 10 in the width direction
and are inserted into housing 10 by sliding both sides on the inner
surface of housing 10. Overflow channel gap d is defined above
cathode 30 to allow wastewater to overflow.
[0055] As shown in the figures, when the cathodes are formed in
plate structures, it has the advantage of being able to recover
valuable metals, such as nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), or iron (Fe),
from high-concentration wastewater.
[0056] According to electrolyzer 1 for recovering valuable metals
having the configuration of the invention, valuable metals in
wastewater are electro-deposited to cathode units 30 and recovered
while the wastewater introduced through the inlet port of housing
10 sequentially passes through electrolytic spaces A.
[0057] Cathode units 30 may be fixed with the lower ends seated in
seating grooves 72 formed on the bottom of housing 10, that is, the
inner surface of lower cap 10c, such that wastewater introduced in
the internal space can overflow and flow into adjacent electrolytic
spaces through portions above cathode units 30.
[0058] It is preferable that an upper portion of cathode unit 30
defines overflow channel gap d together with a bottom of upper cap
10b to guide wastewater to be able to easily overflow above cathode
unit 30. For this configuration, it is preferable that both sides
of cathode unit 30 be in close contact with both inner surfaces of
the housing to prevent wastewater from flowing into the next
electrolytic space through both sides of cathode unit 30.
[0059] That is, cathode unit 30 may be disposed in housing 10 by
sliding both sides into housing 10, the sides of the cathode unit
sliding on both sides of housing 10, and seating the lower end of
the cathode unit into seating groove 72.
[0060] Electrolyzer 1 having an increased contact specific surface
area for recovering valuable metals according to an embodiment of
the present invention increases the ratio of recovery of valuable
metals by repeating the electrolysis process of wastewater several
times by defining a plurality of electrolytic spaces by disposing
cathode units 30 between anodes 20.
[0061] The wastewater overflows above cathode unit 30 and flows
into a next electrolytic space A and flows through a portion under
anode 20 into a next electrolytic space A, such that it
sequentially passes through the inside of housing 10.
[0062] In another embodiment of an electrolyzer 1 having an
increased contact specific surface area for recovering valuable
metals of the present invention, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of
cathode units 30 where valuable metals in wastewater are
practically electro-deposited and recovered in an electrolysis
process includes first cathode 31 that is disposed between anodes
20 such that a space between adjacent anodes 20 is partitioned into
two electrolytic spaces. First cathode 31 is formed in a plate
structure dividing the internal space of housing 10 in the width
direction and defines overflow channel space d that allows
wastewater to overflow through the space above cathode unit 30.
Each of cathode units 30 further includes second cathode 32 that is
formed in a plate shape having a net structure at a predetermined
distance from one side of first cathode 31, third cathode 33 that
is formed in a plate shape having a net structure at a
predetermined distance from the other side of the first cathode,
and cathode wires 34 that are formed in a lump structure with an
increased specific surface area that comes in contact with
wastewater and that fill a space defined by the first and second
cathode and a space defined by the first and third cathode.
[0063] Next, valuable metals are electro-deposited and recovered on
cathode units 30 having cathode wires 34 while wastewater
introduced through inlet port 11 sequentially passes through
electrolytic spaces A.
[0064] Cathode wires 34 are formed in a lump at a side in the
electrolytic space. It is preferable to dispose cathode 31 having a
plate structure between the two cathodes 32 and 33 having net
structures and dispose the cathode wire in a lump in spaces a
defined by cathode 31 having a plate structure and cathodes 32 and
33 having net structures in order to increase the contact specific
surface area of wastewater through the cathode wires.
[0065] According to electrolyzer 1 for recovering valuable metals
having the configuration of the invention, the valuable metals in
wastewater are electro-deposited on cathode units 30 including the
lump of cathode wires 34 and recovered while the wastewater
introduced through inlet port 11 of housing 10 sequentially passes
through electrolytic spaces A.
[0066] In this configuration, it is preferable that the bottom of
cathode unit 30 is blocked by a net structure of a plate structure
such that cathode wires 34 filling space a are not separated when
being attached/detached in the electrolyzer 1, if necessary.
[0067] Cathode units 30 may be fixed with lower ends seated in
seating grooves 72 formed on the bottom of housing 10, that is, an
inner surface of lower cap 10c, such that wastewater introduced in
the internal space can overflow and flow into the adjacent
electrolytic spaces through the portions above first cathodes
31.
[0068] It is preferable that the upper portion of first cathode 31
defines overflow channel gap d together with the bottom of upper
cap 10b to guide wastewater to be able to easily overflow above
first cathode 31. For this configuration, it is preferable that
both sides of cathode unit 30 be in close contact with both inner
surfaces of the housing to prevent wastewater from flowing into the
next electrolytic space through both sides of cathode unit 30.
[0069] That is, cathode unit 30 may be disposed in housing 10 by
sliding both sides into housing 10, the sides of the cathode unit
sliding on both sides of housing 10, and seating the lower end of
the cathode unit into seating groove 72.
[0070] Electrolyzer 1 having an increased contact specific surface
area for recovering valuable metals according to an embodiment of
the present invention increases the contact specific surface area
by filling wires 34 in spaces a between cathodes having a net
structure of a plate structure, and increases the ratio of recovery
of valuable metals by repeating the electrolysis process of
wastewater several times by defining a plurality of electrolytic
spaces by disposing cathode units 30 between anodes 20.
[0071] For this configuration, a plurality of cathode wires is
disposed in close contact with each other in a coil spring
shape.
[0072] For example, FIG. 6 shows cathode wire 34 filled and
positioned in one space a of electrolytic space A by second
electrode 32 and third electrode 33 of cathode unit 30.
[0073] The cathode wires have a pot scourer structure formed by
gathering with adjacent cathode wires.
[0074] As shown in the figure, the structure of filled cathode
wires 34 maximally increases the specific surface area of cathode
unit 30 and increases the amount of valuable metals
electro-deposited from wastewater, such that it is possible to
increase the entire electrolysis efficiency and the ratio of
valuable metals.
[0075] In other words, cathode wires 34 may be filled in a coil
spring or in a pot scourer structure by gathering with adjacent
cathode wires 34, so as to be easily attached/detached in spaces a
and to increase the specific surface area.
[0076] Wastewater overflows above first cathodes 31 and flows into
a next electrolytic space A and flows through the portion under
anode 20 into a next electrolytic space A, such that the wastewater
sequentially passes through the inside of housing 10.
[0077] In the embodiments of the present invention, seating grooves
72, as shown in the figures, may be formed on the tops of fixing
portions 70 formed on the bottom in the internal space of housing
10.
[0078] It is preferable that a lower end of cathode unit 30 be
seated in seating groove 72 and be easily attached/detached to/from
seating groove 72 in order to easily replace cathode unit 30.
[0079] In the embodiments of the present invention, each of anodes
20 of the present invention is disposed between adjacent cathode
units 30 or disposed between the inner wall of the front or rear
end of housing 10 and a cathode unit 30. Each of anodes 20 is
formed in a plate structure dividing the internal space of housing
10 in the width direction, is inserted into housing 10 by sliding
both sides on the inner surfaces of housing 10, and has a lower end
that defines wastewater discharge channel gap c.
[0080] It is preferable that the upper end of each of anodes 20 be
in close contact with the bottom of upper cap 10b to prevent
exhaust gas collecting in an upper portion from infiltrating into
the adjacent housing space. That is, this is for preventing exhaust
gas collecting at a portion above cathode unit 30 between two
adjacent anodes 20 from infiltrating into a portion above another
cathode unit 30.
[0081] As shown in the figure, as cathode unit 30 is disposed in
the space defined by two adjacent anodes 20, cathode unit 30
defines electrolytic spaces A together with anodes 20.
[0082] Two adjacent electrolytic spaces are connected by an
S-shaped channel, such that valuable metals are electro-deposited
and recovered on cathode units 30 while wastewater introduced
through inlet port 11 sequentially passes through electrolytic
spaces A, and then the wastewater is discharged outside through
outlet port 12.
[0083] In the embodiments of the present invention, housing 10
includes external body 10a that has a shape with upper and lower
portions open, has inlet port 11 communicating with the outside at
an upper portion of the rear end, and has outlet port 12 at an
upper portion of the front end, lower cap 10c that is combined with
the lower portion of external body 10a and forms a bottom of
housing 10, and upper cap 10b that is combined with the upper
portion of external body 10a to form a top of the housing and has
one or more gas exhaust holes 13.
[0084] Lower cap 10c forms the bottom of housing 10 by being
fastened to the lower portion of external body 10a by fasteners,
such as bolts.
[0085] Upper cap 10b forms the top of housing 10 by being fastened
to the upper portion of external body 10a by fasteners, such as
bolts, and has gas exhaust holes 13 formed through upper cap 10b at
predetermined positions.
[0086] Inlet port 11 is connected with external inlet pipe 40
through which wastewater flows from the outside. In addition,
external pump P that forcibly introduces wastewater into housing 10
may be disposed at one side of external inlet pipe 40.
[0087] Inlet channel 10a-1 defined by a rear end wall of external
body 10a and adjacent anode 20 communicates with inlet port 11.
Wastewater introduced into inlet channel 10a-1 can flow into an
adjacent electrolytic space through a portion under a lower end of
anode 20.
[0088] External inlet pipe 40 may further include additive inlet
pipe 50 at one side of external inlet pipe 40 for forcibly
injecting a current density additive for increasing electric
conductivity.
[0089] In this configuration, a control valve (not shown) is
further disposed in additive inlet pipe 50 to control the inflow
and the amount of inflow of the current density additive, which is
injected manually or automatically, by controlling the control
valve in accordance with the manual or automatic injection.
[0090] Outlet channel 10a-2 defined by a front end wall of external
body 10a and adjacent anode 20 communicates with outlet port 12.
Wastewater passing through a portion under anode 20 in an
electrolytic space adjacent to outlet channel 10a-2 flows into
outlet channel 10a-2 and can be discharged outside through outlet
port 12.
[0091] External body 10a further includes a plurality of first
drain valves 60 that communicate with an upper portion of the
electrolytic space at an upper portion of a side wall.
[0092] As shown in the figure, each of first drain valves 60
prevents wastewater from overflowing to a portion above the cathode
unit when first drain valve 60 is open while communicating with an
upper portion of electrolytic space A, such that it is possible to
completely remove the wastewater in the next electrolytic space.
Further, first drain valve 60 makes it easy to replace the anode or
cathode unit by preventing wastewater from overflowing to the next
electrolytic space.
[0093] Further, first drain valves 60 may be arranged in a first
line in the longitudinal direction of a side wall of external body
10a, in which first drain valves 60 arranged in a line may be
connected to communicate with each other by drain pipe 62.
[0094] It is possible to control the flow of wastewater between
electrolytic spaces, which are not adjacent to each other, by using
first drain valves 60. For example, it is possible to allow the
wastewater to flow from an electrolytic space at the inlet portion
to an electrolytic space at the outlet port.
[0095] Further, external body 10a may further include first drain
valves 60 arranged in a second line, parallel with the first line
of the first drain valves 60, in the longitudinal direction of the
side wall of external body 10a. In this configuration, first drain
valves 60 in the second line may be connected to communicate with
drain pipe 64.
[0096] First drain valves 60 connected to communicate with each
other by drain pipe 64, as described above, perform the same
function as first drain valves 60 connected by drain pipe 62.
[0097] It is preferable to connect drain pipe 62 with drain pipe 64
such that they are communicate with each other, in order to more
efficiently discharge wastewater to the outside through an upper
portion of the side wall of external body 10a.
[0098] Lower cap 10c further includes a plurality of second drain
valves 66 that communicates with lower portions of the electrolytic
spaces.
[0099] As shown in the figure, second drain valves 66 allow lower
portions of the electrolytic spaces to communicate with the outside
at lower cap 10c.
[0100] In this case, it is preferable that second drain valves 66
communicate with lower portions of electrolytic spaces A adjacent
to rear ends of fixing portions 70 formed on the top of lower cap
10c. Since housing 10 generally inclines, wastewater may collect
around the rear ends of fixing portions 70, such that it is
necessary to position second drain valves 66 at rear ends of fixing
portion 70 in order to completely remove wastewater from housing
10.
[0101] Further, housing 10 further includes fluid blocking balls 14
in the internal space which allow gas to freely move and prevent
wastewater from leaking by closing gas exhaust hole 13 in
accordance with an internal pressure. Upper cap 10b further
includes ball-retaining net fences 15 that are formed in net
structures to control free movement of fluid blocking balls 14 in
the internal space of housing 10 by supporting fluid blocking balls
14.
[0102] Fluid blocking balls 14 can allow gas to be freely moved and
discharged and prevent wastewater in the internal space from
leaking by closing gas exhaust holes 13 in accordance with the
internal pressure of the internal space during an electrolysis
process.
[0103] Gas exhaust holes 13 are formed through upper cap 10b, and
ball-retaining net fences 15 support the fluid blocking balls 14 on
an inner surface of upper cap 10b such that free movement of fluid
blocking balls 14 in the internal space of housing 10 is
controlled.
[0104] That is, fluid blocking balls 14 disposed around gas exhaust
holes 13 are moved to close gas exhaust holes 13 by ball-retaining
net fences 15 in accordance with the internal pressure, thereby
preventing wastewater from leaking.
[0105] The anodes and the cathodes of the cathode units are made of
unplated titanium (Ti).
[0106] The electrodes of anodes 20 and cathode units 30 that are
applied to electrolyzer 1 for recovering valuable metals of the
present invention are preferably made of titanium (Ti). The
titanium makes it possible to achieve high-purity valuable metals
without creating impurities when the valuable metals are extracted
by nitrohydrochloric acid in the next process.
[0107] Hereafter the process of recovering valuable metals, that
is, the electrolysis process of electrolyzer 1 having an increased
contact surface area for recovery of valuable metals according to
another embodiment of the present invention, is described.
[0108] First, wastewater containing valuable metals is introduced
into the internal space of housing 10 by a pumping force provided
by external pump P along external inlet pipe 40.
[0109] That is, the wastewater is introduced into inlet channel
10a-1 through inlet port 11 of external body 10a.
[0110] Next, the wastewater introduced in the electrolytic space
flows to the next electrolytic space while overflowing through an
S-shaped channel above first cathode 31.
[0111] Next, the wastewater flows into the next electrolytic space
A through lower wastewater outlet channel gap c under anode 20.
[0112] By repeating these processes, the wastewater is finally
discharged outside through outlet port 12.
[0113] Cathode wires 34 are filled and positioned in a lump in
space a defined by second cathode 32 and first cathode 31 of
cathode unit 30 and space a defined by third cathode 33 and first
cathode 31.
[0114] In this configuration, second cathode 32 and third cathode
33 are cathodes having a net structure, such that wastewater comes
in contact with the surface of cathode wires 34 through the net
structures.
[0115] When power is supplied to electrode tips protruding outside
from the housing, charge moves to cathode units 30 and anodes 20,
such that the valuable metals in wastewater are electro-deposited
and recovered on cathode units 30, and specifically, on the lump of
cathode wires 34 with the largest specific surface area.
[0116] When the housing is fully filled with wastewater due to
non-smooth discharge of the wastewater through outlet port 12 when
the wastewater is introduced into housing 10 through inlet port 11,
the wastewater stably passes through the electrolytic spaces
without leaking through gas exhaust holes 13 because of fluid
blocking balls 14.
[0117] Gas generated in the electrolysis process is discharged
outside through gas exhaust holes 13, such that it is possible to
improve stability of electrolyzer 1.
[0118] If necessary, it is possible to increase the ratio of
recovery of valuable metals by controlling the control valve (not
shown) of additive inlet pipe 50 such that a predetermined amount
of a current density additive is introduced into the internal space
of housing 10.
[0119] Therefore, it is possible to discharge wastewater containing
valuable metals at a concentration of 0.5 to 2 ppm through the
outlet port when processing wastewater containing valuable metals
at a concentration of 50 ppm.
[0120] Although the present invention is described above with
reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments shown and should be construed on the
basis of the claims. Further, the present invention may be changed
and modified in various ways by those skilled in the art without
departing from a range equivalent to the claims and the spirit of
the present invention.
[0121] The present invention provides an electrolyzer having an
increased contact specific surface area for recovery of valuable
metals and makes it possible to increase the contact specific
surface area of wastewater introduced in the electrolyzer by using
cathode units each including a first, second and third cathodes and
cathode wires filling the spaces between the cathodes. The present
invention also makes it possible to easily electro-deposit and
recover valuable metals even from wastewater containing a small
amount of valuable metals and to achieve high electrolysis
efficiency because the cathode units are disposed between the
anodes to define a plurality of electrolytic spaces, such that
valuable metals are electro-deposited while wastewater sequentially
passes the electrolytic spaces. The present invention also
increases the stability of the electrolyzer because gas generated
in the electrolysis process is discharged first by gas exhaust
holes formed in the top of the housing, and prevents wastewater
from leaking by using fluid blocking balls that close the gas
exhaust holes according to the internal pressure if necessary.
Therefore, the present invention has industrial applicability.
* * * * *