Electrolytic copper, a red metal with a purity of more than 99.95%, flows in every corner of modernization like
the blood of industrial society. From the microcircuit in the smart phone to the ultra-high voltage transmission
line across thousands of miles, from the drive motor of the new energy car to the precision parts of the
spacecraft, its figure is everywhere. The global production of electrolytic copper exceeds 25 million tons
per year, supporting the digitalization process of human civilization and the energy revolution.
Copper Electrolysis' Journey to Nirvana
In the copper pyrometallurgical smelting plant, crude copper anode plates are undergoing the transformation from
“ugly duckling” to “white swan”. These anode plates with uniform thickness are precisely placed into the electrolyzer
filled with copper sulfate solution, forming a complete current circuit with the cathode titanium plate. Under a DC
voltage of 1.8-2.2 volts, a magical electrolysis reaction takes place: the copper atoms in the anode's crude copper
lose electrons to become Cu²+ and enter the solution, while the copper ions in the solution regain electrons at
the cathode and crystallize out in metallic form.
Temperature control during the electrolysis process is a precision art. Maintaining the electrolyte temperature at
55-65℃ requires an automatic temperature control system on duty around the clock, and every 1℃ fluctuation
in temperature affects the crystallization form of copper cathode. The electrolyte circulation system is like the blood
circulation of the human body, continuously filtering and removing arsenic, antimony and other impurities to maintain
the purity of the solution. At the end of the electrolysis cycle, workers use special stripping machine to separate the
copper cathode plate from the titanium master plate, and these metal plates shining with rose gold color then enter
the finishing process.
In the finishing workshop, fully automatic CNC shears are cutting the electrolytic copper plates accurately. The
thickness detector scans each copper plate with an accuracy of 0.01 millimeter to eliminate defective products that
do not meet the ASTM B115 standard. After surface passivation treatment, the copper plates are neatly stacked,
waiting to be shipped to deep-processing enterprises around the world. The anode sludge generated throughout
the production process will not be wasted, and the gold, silver and other precious metals contained therein will
be specially extracted to realize the full-value utilization of resources.
Metal backbone supporting modern civilization
In the field of ultra-high voltage power transmission, electrolytic copper is performing the legend of “four two pounds”.
Each diameter of only 3 centimeters of silver-plated copper wire, in 800 kilovolts of voltage can be transported 6,000
amperes of current, equivalent to the simultaneous lighting of 300,000 sets of home air conditioners. This amazing source
of conductivity comes from the near-perfect lattice structure of copper crystals, whose free electron mobility is 1.6 times
that of aluminum. The GIS equipment in the smart grid maximizes copper's conductivity, reducing the footprint of
substations by 70% through SF6 gas insulation technology.
The semiconductor industry requires a nearly exacting purity of copper. 12-inch wafer manufacturing requires a copper
purity of 99.9999%, which is equivalent to no more than one impurity per million atoms. This ultra-pure copper is used
to form 10-nanometer interconnect wires through the electroplating process, carrying trillions of chip operations per
second. In the antenna array of 5G base station, copper alloy heat sink is solving the heat problem of millimeter wave
chip, its thermal conductivity is two times of aluminum alloy, and it is equipped with a “cool heart” for communication
equipment.
The new energy revolution has opened up a new battlefield for copper electrolysis. Each 3MW wind turbine requires 2.8
tons of copper windings, while photovoltaic power plants consume 4 tons of copper per megawatt installed. The copper
demand for electric vehicles is four times higher than that of conventional cars, with copper featured throughout the
powertrain, from the collector of lithium-ion batteries to the solenoid coils of drive motors. The building sector is
witnessing the green transformation of copper, with the 100-year service life of copper roofs and 100% recyclable
characteristics, making it the “favorite” of LEED-certified buildings.
The evolution of the industry towards green
The copper smelting industry is experiencing an iterative revolution in environmental technology. The new permanent
cathode electrolyzer adopts polymer materials to replace the traditional lead alloy anode, which reduces power consumption
by 15% and improves the stability of copper cathode quality by 30%. The electrolyte purification system introduces
ion-exchange resin technology, increasing the removal rate of arsenic to 99.5%, and the reuse rate of wastewater exceeds
the 95% mark. In a demonstration base in Zhejiang, the intelligent electrolysis workshop regulates 30,000 process
parameters in real time through 5G Internet of Things, and the comprehensive energy consumption per unit of product is
22% lower than the industry standard.
The recycled copper industry is reshaping the resource map. The “urban mine” recovered from waste electrical appliances
can be processed by advanced smelting equipment to produce recycled copper electrolytic copper with a quality comparable
to that of virgin copper. The electrolytic purification technology developed by an innovative European company makes it
possible to directly electrolyze copper scrap, saving 60% of energy consumption. According to the International Copper
Association, recycled copper will account for 40% of global supply by 2030, creating a $100 billion emerging market.
Materials scientists are pushing the performance limits of copper. The strength of nanocrystalline copper has reached five
times that of traditional copper, bringing light to miniaturized electronic devices; graphene-enhanced copper composites
have boosted electrical conductivity by 25%, and have been successfully applied to conductive rings in satellites. In the field
of superconducting materials, copper oxides doped with trace amounts of rare earth elements show zero resistance in the
liquid nitrogen temperature zone, depicting a revolutionary picture for future energy transmission.
Standing at the intersection of intelligent manufacturing and dual-carbon goals, the copper electrolysis industry is renewing
its legend with the giant brush of scientific and technological innovation. When quantum computers need purer copper-based
materials, and when fusion reactors crave for more heat-resistant copper alloys, this ancient metal kingdom continues to
evolve. From the ore buried deep in the ground to the probes flying in space, the journey of copper testifies to mankind's
unremitting exploration of the material limit, and also foretells a more brilliant tomorrow for the green industry.