Synergistic extraction and separation of Co(II)/Ni(II) by solvent extraction technique using TIOA/TOPO as carriers

Abstract

Cobalt and its compounds have wide range applications in some industrial and technological fields. These metals show excellent resistance to oxidation and corrosion under extreme conditions. However, these metals found together within metal ores in nature. This situation makes their separation difficult from each other. They have very similar physical and chemical properties making them very hard to be purified with using traditional separation pathways. Moreover, increasing supply-demand gap between them and decreasing valuable ores because of limited deposit in earth crust have been limited the sources of them. Under the light of this knowledge, one of the practical solutions should be produced to recycle cobalt and nickel from solid and liquid waste containing trace amounts of them.In this study, we investigated the selective and the synergistic cobalt extraction from acidic aqueous solutions by solvent extraction using tri-iso-octylamine (TIOA) and Tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) as carriers. The effective parameters on the extraction and the stripping of the cobalt were investigated, and optimum synergistic extraction and stripping conditions were identified. The cobalt extraction from aqueous Co/Ni solutions in various molar concentrations was examined in the optimum conditions to determine the synergism between TIOA and TOPO.