Extraction and separation of Co(II) and Ni(II) from acidic sulfate solutions using Aliquat 336

Extraction and separation of Co(II) and Ni(II) from acidic sulfate solutions by solvent extraction technique were studied using different forms of Aliquat 336 diluted with kerosene. The extraction percent of each metal ion was found to increase with increasing pH and extractant concentration. Co(II) was preferentially extracted by different forms of Aliquat 336 over Ni(II) under the same extraction conditions. From analysis of the experimental results, the extraction mechanism of R4N-forms was proposed with Co(II). It was found that the highest separation factor (SCo/Ni) value of 606.7 was obtained with 0.36 M R4N-SCN in kerosene from 2.0 M H2SO4 solution at pH 4.8 and shaking time of 20 min. Stripping of the two metal ions from the organic phase was also investigated. Based on the experimental results, a separation method was developed and tested to separate high purity Co(II), Ni(II) and Ln(III) from Ni-MH batteries leached by 2.0 M H2SO4. Based on the experimental results, a flow sheet was developed and tested and 0.34 g Co, 1.39 g Ln and 5.2 g Ni were obtained from the leaching process.