Separation of Co (II)/Ni (II) with Cyanex 272: extraction kinetics study

摘要: Cobalt and nickel are among the most important non-ferrous metals and consequently their separation is a key process in hydrometallurgy [1],[2]. Typical hydrometallurgical separation processes like chemical precipitation and oxidation are however not economically feasible due to the similar physicochemical properties of cobalt and nickel. Fortunately, the separation of cobalt and nickel is achieved in a relative easy manner by reactive solvent extraction (SX). It is estimated that in the western hemisphere 40% of cobalt is produced using reactive SX with bis (2, 4, 4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid (Cyanex 272) as extractant [3].