Thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of chemical method for treating scraps of copper alloys

Thermodynamics and kinetics were studied for producing pure copper powder directly from the scraps of ordinary brass. The theoretical analysis and experimental results show that leaching of Zn, Fe, etc. from the alloy is easy, and the oxidation and reduction of the sponge copper resulted from leaching are fast reactions. Besides, the acid leaching process is controlled by diffusion in the sponge copper, and the kinetic equation was presented for scrap leaching with CHCl=20.2%. Further thermodynamic analysis indicates that this process is also suitable for scraps of all copper alloys, and particularly suited for industrial brass scraps.