Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University (St. Petersburg, Russia)

A. P. Petkova, Dr. Eng., Prof., e-mail: apetkova@inbox.ru
G. R. Sharafutdinova, Postgraduate Student, e-mail: grsharafutdinova@yandex.ru
O. Yu. Ganzulenko, Cand. Eng., Associate Prof., e-mail: oxana_ganza@mail.ru

“Dobrokhim” LLC (Saint-Petersburg, Russia)

A. I. Konyashina, General Director, e-mail: akoniashina@ya.ru

The article investigates the electrochemical synthesis of sodium ferrate using anodes made of ferritic steel alloyed with silicon concentrations of 4.15 %, 5.5 %, 6.8 % and 7.5 %. It has been found that silicon content increase in the anodes contributes to a significant improvement in the basic parameters of the process. With silicon content of 7.5 %, the maximum concentration of sodium ferrate in solution was reached – up to 18 g/dm3, which is 3 times higher than with transformer steel anodes, while increasing productivity and reducing specific energy consumption for synthesis. The increased silicon content facilitates the destruction of the oxide film on the surface of the anode in alkaline solution, which slows down electrochemical processes, which makes it possible to stabilize the reactor’s efficiency for a long time. Sodium ferrate demonstrates high efficiency in removing heavy metals, organic compounds, and fine particles from wastewater generated by mining and metallurgical plants. These data confirm the possibility of using sodium ferrate for the purification of the process waters used in the processing of non-ferrous ores and rare earth metals, as well as to prevent negative effects on the environment.

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