Study on copper adsorption on olivine

The copper adsorption on olivine supplied by A/S Olivine production plant at Aheim in western Norway has been studied. The factors which affect the uptake of copper have been evaluated. The results reveal that the equilibrium PH in aqueous solution has the greatest influence on the copper adsorption thanks to the competitive adsorption between proton and copper ions, and the adsorption of copper to olivine increases rapidly with the pH increasing from 4 to 6. The initial copper concentration and olivine dose also possess significant effect on copper adsorption. The adsorption efficieny of copper increases with the increase of olivine dose or the decrease of initial copper concentration at the same pH. The ionic strength effect on the adsorption has also been investigated, but it owns little effect on the adsorption process of copper due to the formation of inner sphere surface complexation of copper on olivine. The experimental data show that olivine has a high acid buffer capacity and is an effective adsorbent for copper.