Cathodic reductive dissolution and surface adsorption behavior of ocean manganese nodules

Cathodic slurry reductive dissolution of ocean manganese nodules in 1 M H2SO4 at 600 and 1000 mA resulted in significant dissolution of copper and nickel, while the dissolved copper was simultaneously deposited at the cathode. Dissolved manganese could be anodically converted to MnO2. Ocean manganese nodules exhibited good adsorption capacities for copper and nickel from acidic solutions. Adsorption behavior and mechanisms for uptake of various metal ions such as copper, nickel, cobalt and iron are discussed.