Influence of the structure of alkyl derivatives of salicylaldehyde oxime upon the extraction rate of copper from diluted acidic solutions

Abstract

Individual pure alkyl derivatives of salicylaldehyde oxime were used for copper extraction using the short-time phase contacting method. The influence of the oxime structure upon the extraction rate and the surface activity was discussed. It was found that the reaction can proceed at the interface and in the bulk of the aqueous phase. The bulk-phase process is dominant for oximes having less than four carbon atoms in the alkyl group, while the interfacial process is dominant for oximes having more than six carbon atoms.