Tendencias recientes en la extracción de metales

After near 70 years of practical usage, solvent extraction is a perfectly mastered technique of separation, widely used on an industrial scale for the separation of metals mainly from raw materials. However, currently, in the era of depleting natural resources and increasingly less accessible deposits, environmental restrictions, etc., an increasing interest, both from social and economical constrains, is being directed at the extraction of metals from the secondary sources (such as batteries, electronic scrap). In many cases, solvent extraction, due to its operational characteristics, can be considered as the Best Available Technology for the purpose of separating multielemental metal solutions. This paper provides a brief overview of past achievements and present scenario of solvent extraction investigations and developments, describing some recently commissioned solvent extraction plants, whereas the Skorpion Zinc plant (Namibia) for zinc extraction from raw materials and caesium removal from radioactive High Level Wastes (HLWs) are told over in detail as case studies. The paper also presents some proposals for the use of liquid-liquid extraction to separate metal ions from secondary sources (e.g. cobalt from industrial waste streams). The review highlights the emerging use of ionic liquids as new extractants for metals, providing an insight into this exciting research field. Despite its detractors, solvent extraction has entered in force into XXI century as a leading separation technology for metals.

[1]  G. Lumetta,et al.  Development of Effective Solvent Modifiers for the Solvent Extraction of Cesium from Alkaline High‐Level Tank Waste , 2003 .

[2]  S. Handy,et al.  Applications of Ionic Liquids in Science and Technology , 2011 .

[3]  Chao Xu,et al.  Solvent Extraction of Strontium and Cesium: A Review of Recent Progress , 2012 .

[4]  F. J. Alguacil,et al.  Supported liquid membranes technologies in metals removal from liquid effluents , 2011 .

[5]  B. Moyer,et al.  Fundamental Studies Regarding Synergism Between Calix[4]arene‐bis(tert‐octylbenzo‐crown‐6) and Alcohol Modifiers in the Solvent Extraction of Cesium Nitrate , 2005 .

[6]  J. Dozol,et al.  Extraction of Radioactive Elements by Calixarenes , 2009 .

[7]  E. Guibal,et al.  Gold Recovery from HCl Solutions using Cyphos IL‐101 (a Quaternary Phosphonium Ionic Liquid) Immobilized in Biopolymer Capsules , 2008 .

[8]  David Dreisinger,et al.  Keynote address: Hydrometallurgical process development for complex ores and concentrates , 2009 .

[9]  K. R. Barnard,et al.  The Effect of Hydroxyoxime Isomer Conformation on Metal Extraction in the LIX 63/Versatic 10 Synergistic System , 2012 .

[10]  B. Wionczyk.  Effect of Temperature on the Extraction of Chromium(III) from Alkaline Aqueous Solutions with Trioctylmethylammonium Chloride (Aliquat 336) , 2009 .

[11]  B. Keppler,et al.  Transport and separation of iron(III) from nickel(II) with the ionic liquid trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium chloride , 2010 .

[12]  F. J. Alguacil,et al.  Pseudo-emulsion based hollow fiber with strip dispersion pertraction of iron(III) using (PJMTH+)2(SO42−) ionic liquid as carrier , 2010 .

[13]  Jong‐Min Lee.  Extraction of noble metal ions from aqueous solution by ionic liquids , 2012 .

[14]  E. Guibal,et al.  Zinc(II) Extraction from Hydrochloric Acid Solutions using Amberlite XAD-7 Impregnated with Cyphos IL 101 (Tetradecyl(Trihexyl)Phosphonium Chloride) , 2008 .

[15]  O. Rodríguez,et al.  Membrane-based extraction with strip/organic dispersion methodologies for metals removal and recovery from wastewaters , 2012 .

[16]  R. E. Sesto,et al.  Tetraalkylphosphonium-based ionic liquids , 2005 .

[17]  S. Mezyk,et al.  The Radiation Chemistry of the Cs-7SB Modifier used in Cs and Sr Solvent Extraction , 2011 .

[18]  B. Moyer,et al.  Alternatives to Nitric Acid Stripping in the Caustic‐Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX) Process for Cesium Removal from Alkaline High‐Level Waste , 2009 .

[19]  Y. Takeda,et al.  Selective Extraction of Palladium and Platinum from Hydrochloric Acid Solutions by Trioctylammonium-Based Mixed Ionic Liquids , 2011 .

[20]  E. Guibal,et al.  CYPHOS IL 101 (Tetradecyl(Trihexyl)Phosphonium Chloride) Immobilized in Biopolymer Capsules for Hg(II) Recovery from HCl Solutions , 2008 .

[21]  A. Turanov,et al.  Effect of ionic liquids on the extraction of rare-earth elements by bidentate neutral organophosphorus compounds from chloride solutions , 2008 .