Power Consumption Model for Electrolytic Preparation of Copper Powders Using Response Surface Methodology

Electrolytic production of copper powders is a process with a high power consumption. This study establishes a power consumption model for copper powder electrolysis using the response surface methodology (RSM) under laboratory conditions, which provides the basis for reducing power consumption. First, seven process parameters were screened out using the Plackett–Burman design (PBD) experiments. The results show that the factors that have a significant effect on the power consumption of copper powder electrolysis are electrolyte temperature, Cu²⁺ concentration, H₂SO₄ concentration, inter-electrode spacing, and current density. A quadratic mathematical model of significant factors and power consumption was then developed using the Box–Behnken design (BBD) of RSM. Finally, the model was used to optimize the most energy-efficient process conditions. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicates that the morphologies of electrolytic copper powders deposited under the optimized conditions generally have dendritic structure and the agglomerated copper particles are almost globular.