Tellurium, from Copper Anode Slime to High Purity Product: A Review Paper

Tellurium is a rare metalloid that is vastly produced from copper anode slime, which is a by-product of the copper electrorefining process. Choosing the proper recovery method strongly depends on the slimes composition, mineralogy, and tellurium concentration. In addition, correctly selecting the right method of leaching, purification, and precipitation in economic and environmental processing of the variety of copper anode slimes very much depends on having a thorough understanding of the chemistry, thermodynamics, and kinetics of the recovery process. Despite a wide variety of developments in the recovery of slime, a lack of comprehensive study to help identify the effective factors in the selection of the right process is evident. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on the available tellurium recovering processes from copper anode slime to the final high purity product. This overview is written, hoping to help researchers select and apply the appropriate method in the recovery of tellurium from copper anode slimes of different characteristics.