Novel electrolysis processes remain strong technological contenders for advances in sustainable materials processing, in particular metals, yet will need to compete economically with currently-deployed production facilities. To evaluate the technoeconomic efficacy of new electrolytic metal extraction processes, an understanding of the capital and operating costs of electrowinning is necessary. Estimation of electrochemical operating costs has been afforded due attention, yet capital cost (CAPEX) trends are far less understood. Herein, we attempt to show that estimating the capital costs of electrowinning processes via conventional chemical engineering scaling laws is not possible. Instead, we propose a capital cost model for electrochemical processes based on relevant operating parameters such as current density, temperature, and voltage. The new model for capital cost describes within ±30 to 100% the capex for existing electrochemical processes, sufficient for order of magnitude and preliminary design capital cost estimation.
The liquid phase thermodynamic of mixing of the copper-aluminium binary system is investigated as a function of temperature and composition using the electrochemical potential difference method. A copper-selective beta" alumina (Cuβ"Al 2 O 3 ) is used as a solid electrolyte, synthesized through ion exchange, sintering from base oxide powders, and the floating zone method of crystal growth. Measured thermodynamic of mixing data were used to inform short range ordering in copper-aluminium melts through Darken's factor for excess stability and Bhatia-Thornton structure factors, revealing a strong departure from ideality and pronounced ordering. Mixing properties were used to predict viscosity and self-diffusion coefficients. Features observed in calculated electronic entropy of mixing for copper-aluminium were compared to trends in viscosity, demonstrating the utility of electronic property of mixing in the description of structure-properties in this liquid binary system.
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