Hexaacetato Calix (6) arene as a novel extractant in the recovery of Cerium (III) by liquid-liquid extraction

Abstract

Abstract This research focuses on the extraction and separation of Cerium (III) using Hexaacetato Calix (6) arene by solvent extraction. The most favorable conditions for extraction were estimated by studying the influence of pH, different acids as agents for stripping, various diluents, optimum extractant concentration, optimum shaking period, and the influence of diverse ions. Hexaacetato Calix (6) arene in Xylene was used as the ligand for the liquid-liquid extraction of Ce (III). Quantitative extraction was achieved with 1 × 10−4 M of the ligand in Xylene at pH 7 after 10 min of mechanical shaking. The organic phase was stripped with Nitric acid (1 N) and the spectrophotometric determination of Cerium (III) at 650 nm by the Arenas(III) method was carried out. The metal loading ability of the ligand was also investigated and extraction was found to be quantitative up to 80 μg/ml. Ce (III) was also extracted in the presence of several ions to discover the limit of tolerance. The method was applied to recover Cerium from electronic waste water.