Recovery of nickel, cobalt, copper and zinc in sulphate and chloride solutions using synergistic solvent extraction

A number of synergistic solvent extraction (SSX) systems have been developed to recover nickel, cobalt, zinc and copper from sulphuric and chloride leach solutions by the solvent extraction team of CSIRO, Australia. These include (1) Versatic 10/CLX50 system for the separation of Ni from Ca in sulphate solutions, (2) Versatic 10/4PC system for the separation of Ni and Co from Mn/Mg/Ca in sulphate solutions, (3) Cyanex 471X/HRJ-4277 system for the separation of Zn from Cd in sulphate solutions, (4) Versatic 10/LIX63 system for the separation of Co from Mn/Mg/Ca in sulphate solutions, (5) Versatic 10/LIX63/TBP system for separation of Ni and Co from Mn/Mg/Ca in sulphate solutions, (6) Versatic 10/LIX63 system for the separation of cobalt from nickel in sulphate solutions by difference in kinetics, (7) Cyanex 272/LIX84 system for the separation of Cu/Fe/Zn from Ni/Co in sulphate solutions, (8) Versatic 10/LIX63/TBP system to recover Cu/Ni from strong chloride solutions, and (9) Versatic 10/LIX63 system to separate Cu from Fe in strong chloride solutions.The synergistic effect on metal separation and efficiency is presented and possible industrial applications are demonstrated. The chemical stability of selected SSX systems is also reported.