THE ISSUE OF METAL EXTRACTION DURING OZONATION PURIFICATION OF COPPER PRODUCTION PROCESS SOLUTIONS

Over ten billion tons of minerals are mined worldwide each year, generating vast volumes of acidic process solutions rich in copper, zinc, iron, molybdenum and other metals. Effective treatment and resource recovery from these liquid wastes is essential both for environmental protection and for conserving strategic reserves. In this study, we investigate ozone-air bubbling as a single-stage purification and metal-extraction method for real copper-production effluents from JSC Almalyk MMC. Ozone consumption and metal liberation kinetics were quantified as functions of metal ion concentration, ozone dosage, and contact time. Under optimized conditions, more than 99 % of Cu, Zn,Fe and Mo was precipitated within one hour, driving residual concentrations below 0.01 mg L-1 and yielding a clear, reusable effluent. Based on these results, we propose a conceptual flow scheme that integrates ozone-induced oxidation of metal-ligand complexes with downstream hydroxide precipitation and filtration. This ozone-based process offers a scalable, chemical-free route to both recover valuable metals and produce high-quality process water, supporting closed-loop operation in copper refining and potentially other metallurgical industries.