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CHMT 5000A:
Solvent Extraction
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Solvent Extraction
Lecture Content:
• Learning Outcomes
• What is Solvent Extraction?
• Basic Principles
• Solvent selection
• Solvent Extraction Methods
• Distribution/Partition Coefficient
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Learning Outcomes
By the end of the lecture you should:
• Understand basic principles
• Have knowledge of various techniques, unit
process and operations used in solvent
extraction.
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What is
Solvent Extraction?
• Solvent extraction also know as liquid to liquid extraction
(LLE) is a method of separating two liquids based on their
solubilities.
• This process uses two immiscible (not homogenous) liquids
such as water and an organic solvent.
• An extraction of a substance from one liquid phase into
another liquid phase.
• This process uses inexpensive reagents to extract non-ferrous
metals from hydrometallurgical leach solutions.
Organic solvent examples:
• Aromatic compounds e.g. benzene
• Alcohols e.g. methanol
• Ketones e.g. acetone 5
What is
Solvent Extraction?
Basic Principles:
• Can be a single or multistage separation.
• Can be performed at low temperatures.
• Extracting solvent is recycled by distillation .
• Can vary aqueous phase, organic phase, ligands.
• Uncomplexed metal ions are not soluble in organic
phase.
• Metals complexed by organics can be extracted into
organic phase.
• Considered as liquid ion exchangers.
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What is
Solvent Extraction?
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Mechanism
• Solvent extraction transfers one or more solutes
from the feed solution to the solvent
(immiscible liquid).
Feed solution + Extract +
solute (s) solute (s)
Solvent Raffinate
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Types of
Separations
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Ideal
Solvents
An ideal solvent should:
• Have high capacity for extraction.
• Not react with extracted compound or other
compounds to be extracted.
• Have low price.
• Not be harmful to humans and environment.
• Be completely volatile.
• Generally used solvents are: water, ether,
alcohol, chloroform.
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Advantages of
water as a solvent
• Readily available.
• Low cost.
• Good solvent.
• Can be used with other solvents.
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Basic
Extraction Example
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Extraction Example
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Extraction Example
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Types of
Solvent Extractions
A few examples of solvent extractive equipment:
• Mix settlers
• Columns
• Counter current
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Mix-Settlers
• One unit approaches one equilibrium stage
• Large vessels are used.
• High liquid rates
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Columns
• Practical choice for most liquid-liquid extraction
• Packing, trays increases the surface area for two liquid phases
to intermingle.
• Agitated and static are commonly used.
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Counter Current
• Used to increase metal loading onto organic, contact is
required with aqueous solutions having high
concentrations.
• Used to achieve low concentration of metal in raffinate
(ideal), contact is required with organics having low
concentrations.
• More efficient use of solvent by higher loading in
contact feed.
• Best recovery from raffinate in contact with fresh
organic.
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Counter Current
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Process Operation
Parameters
The following are parameters are crucial:
• Feed specification
• Concentration
• Residence time
• Temperature
• Ph
Design criteria
• Adequate mixing – very vital
• Reduce Emulsion - forms through excessive agitation.
• Reduce crud layer floats – ensure to filter.
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Type of Extractants
• The extractant is the main organic phase component used for
the metal recovery.
• Metal extractants classification is done by: structure, extraction
mechanism and metal species extracted.
Main Extractants include:
• Chelating
• Ion-pair
• Neutral
• Organic Acid
• Ligand substitution
(look these up) 21
Distribution/Partition
Coefficient
• Distribution coefficient (KD ): is when the rate of the
concentration of the solute in each of the solvent is always
constant at a certain temperature.
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑃ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 (𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 2)
• KD =
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝑞𝑢𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 (𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 1)
• KD is used:
• to determine separation factors for a given metal ion.
• determine the amount of metal which will move from the aqueous
phase to the organic phase
• to evaluate stoichiometry.
• evaluation change in solution parameter.
When KD is small, then not all the solute will move to the organic
phase in a single stage. 22
Distribution
Coefficient Example
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Distribution
Coefficient Example
It is better to extract twice with smaller portions of solvent
then to do it once. 24
Example 1
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Example 2
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Example 2
Solutions
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Cont…
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Applications
Used for removal of products and pollutants from dilute
aqueous streams. Performed in the below industries:
• Metal industry – copper recovery.
• Chemical – washing of acids/bases from organics.
• Inorganic chemicals – purification of phosphoric acid.
• Petroleum- separation of aromatics.
• Petrochemicals – separation of olefins/paraffin.
• Pharmaceuticals – purification of vitamin products.
• Effluent treatment – recovery of acetic acid from dilute
solutions.
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