Phase separation in solvent extraction of cobalt from acidic sulfate solution using synergistic mixture containing dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid and 2-ethylhexyl 4-pyridinecarboxylate ester
(College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)
Abstract: Phase separation rate is a critical character in determining the usefulness of a solvent extraction system in hydrometallurgy. A survey of the synergistic mixture containing dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid (HDNNS) and 2-ethylhexly 4-pyridinecarboxylate ester (4PC) for the extraction of cobalt from acidic single metal sulfate solution was carried out to suggest how the physicochemical properties and the morphology of the reverse micelles in the loaded organic phase affect the phase separation. The results show that effective parameters affecting the phase separation are the viscosity and the excess water uptake of the loaded organic phase. It is obvious that the specific settling rate (SSR) decreases with the apparent increase of these two parameters. The measurement of small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) proves that the morphology of the reversed micelles in the loaded organic phase changes evidently with the change of the specific settling rate (SSR).
Key words: synergistic solvent extraction; phase separation; specific settling rate; reverse micelle; cobalt