Abstract
The unique properties of tantalum (Ta) have resulted in its important usage to supply capacitors and semiconductor production for electronics devices. Technological needs make Ta economically and strategically important to industrialized countries. Among different possibilities, the recovery of Ta from industrial waste and end-of-life products represents an economically attractive and viable approach, which aims at decreasing the environmental footprint in general. Currently, there is a lack of an efficient Ta recycling strategy from e-waste. In the present work, we studied the possibility to use pure ionic liquids such as N-butyl-N-ethyl-piperidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EBPiP-NTf2) and N-octyl-N-ethyl-piperidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EOPiP-NTf2) as extracting media. Ionic liquids were used as alternative solvents that will have limited impact on health and the environment compared to traditional organic solvents. We propose an eco-friendly process for the extraction and stripping of tantalum from a sulfuric acidic medium that may come from of the dissolution of bottom ash and by-products of industrial activities as well as from secondary sources such as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The extractability of ILs for Ta was demonstrated, and under the experimental conditions, the more promising properties have been highlighted for EOPiP-NTf2. Back extraction of Ta from the loaded ionic liquid phase was also examined and showed that quantitative recovery of the metal was possible using water, allowing thus recovery of the ionic liquid and Ta. Considering the efficiency as well as greener aspects of the process due to the use of ionic liquids which loss is highly limited in the aqueous phase, a more “sustainable process” is proposed in comparison to organic solvents and previous ionic liquid-based extraction systems useful for the selective recovery of tantalum.
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