SOLUBILITIES AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SATURATED SOLUTIONS IN THE COPPER SULFATE + SULFURIC ACID + SEAWATER SYSTEM AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES

Abstract In Chile, the most important economic activity is mining, concentrated in the north of the country. This is a desert region with limited water resources; therefore, the mining sector requires research and identification of alternative sources of water. One alternative is seawater, which can be a substitute of the limited fresh water resources in the region. This work determines the influence of seawater on the solid-liquid equilibrium for acid solutions of copper sulfate at different temperatures (293.15 to 318.15 K), and its effect on physical properties (density, viscosity, and solubility). Knowledge of these properties and solubility data are useful in the leaching process and in the design of copper sulfate pentahydrate crystallization plants from the leaching process using seawater by means of the addition of sulfuric acid.