What is copper sulfate?
Copper sulfate with the chemical formula CuSO4.nH2O is an inorganic compound. Pentahydrate copper sulfate with blue crystals can be dried and formed monohydrate copper sulfate powder with light blue color. It is the most widely used copper salt in the industry, and completely dries at temperature above 200 °C. CuSO4.nH2O decomposes to copper oxide and sulfur trioxide (SO3) by heating this chemical at temperatures above 560 °C.
CuSO4.nH2O or bluestone reacts with concentrated hydrochloric acid to produce tetrachlorocuprate (Cl4Cu-2).
Copper sulfate production method
Copper sulfate is usually produced by the reaction between sulfuric acid and metal copper filings and with the help of oxidizing agents such as nitric acid HNO3, hydrogen peroxide H2O2 or hot-air.
Another alternative for copper sulfate production is reaction between copper filings and hydrogen peroxide, which produces high-quality CuSO4.nH2O without acid contaminant and odor. Copper sulfate produced by this method is used in various industries, including plating and fish farming.
First, the copper filings are transferred to a steel or polyethylene tank heated by steam. Water and sulfuric acid are then added. Due to the slow reaction of sulfuric acid with copper metal, a strong oxidant must be used to dissolve the copper. This is usually done by nitric acid. After completing the reaction between copper filings and nitric acid and dissolving Cu, the solution is boiled, which results in converting a significant amount of nitrate in the solution to nitrogen gases and removed from the solution. The remaining nitrate in the solution reduces the quality of copper sulfate as impurities. Also, the produced nitrogen gases are toxic and inhalation may lead to cancer as well as damage to the respiratory tract. For controlling exhaust gases and recovering nitric acid, scrubbers, and showers must be used.
Production of CuSO4.nH2O without nitrate can be done with the help of hydrogen peroxide or hot air injected into the solution.
Copper sulfate is produced by reacting malachite ore or copper concentrate with sulfuric acid or leaching soil or copper concentrate in a reactor. After dissolution of copper and other elements in the soil such as iron and some impurities, the solution is filtered. The filtrate solution can be purified by solvent extraction using LIX or precipitation of the impurities.
The sulfur copper concentrate and soil must first be dissolved in pressurized tanks and then purified.
The CuSO4.nH2O solution produced by all the mentioned methods is filtrated in order to remove the impurities, then transferred to polyethylene tank or spray dryers for crystallizing. After crystallization, it will be ready for packaging and sale.
Applications and applications of copper sulfate
- Used in fertilizer
- Production of fungicides and herbicides
- Auxiliary treatment in nickel and cadmium heat treatment in zinc ingot production plants
- Stabilizing agent in zinc flotation
- Copper plating
- Production of livestock and poultry feed concentrate
- Production of zinc carbonate and zinc oxide
- printing industry
- Used as additive to prevent bacterial decomposition of concrete
- Production of fireworks to create blue color
- Dyeing and textile
- Use in water pools and fountains to prevent algae growth
- Production of antifungal creams and shampoos
- Production of copper carbonate and other copper compounds
The sale of copper sulfate of Hamun Industrial Group is done with the following specifications:
Crystalline pentahydrate copper sulfate (nitric acid free and produced by H2O2)
Seeding : Crystalline
Copper grade: 24%
Packaging: 25 kg
Monhydrate CuSO4.nH2O
Seeding: Powder with mesh 200
Copper grade: 31%
Packaging: 25 kg
The group is also ready to produce and sell copper sulfate with specifications and analysis requested by customers if they receive bulk orders.
