The difference between electrolytic copper and cathode copper
What is electrolytic copper:
Electrolytic purification of copper: The crude copper (containing 99% copper) is pre-made into thick plates as anodes, and pure copper is made into thin sheets as cathodes, and a mixture of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and copper sulfate (CuSO4) is used as the electrolyte. After power is turned on, copper dissolves from the anode into copper ions (Cu) and moves to the cathode. After reaching the cathode, it obtains electrons and precipitates pure copper (also called electrolytic copper) at the cathode. Impurities in crude copper, such as iron and zinc, which are more active than copper, will dissolve into ions (Zn and Fe) along with copper. Since these ions are less likely to precipitate than copper ions, the precipitation of these ions on the anode can be avoided by properly adjusting the potential difference during electrolysis. Impurities that are less active than copper, such as gold and silver, are deposited at the bottom of the electrolytic cell.
The copper plates produced in this way are called "electrolytic copper" and are of extremely high quality and can be used to make electrical products.
The sediment at the bottom of the electrolytic cell is called "anode mud", which is rich in gold and silver and is very valuable. It has extremely high economic value to remove and reprocess it.
Cathode copper:
Component Content Component Content Copper + Silver (Cu+Ag) 99.96 Tin (Sn) ≤0.0007 Arsenic (As) ≤0.00059 Nickel (Ni) ≤0.0005 Antimony (Sb) ≤0.00054 Zinc (Zn) ≤0.002 Iron (Fe) ≤0.0006 Sulfur (S) ≤0.0012 Lead (Pb) ≤0.0010 Phosphorus (P) ≤0.0001
