Ion flotation studies of the chlorocomplexes of some platinum group metals

The anionic chlorocomplexes of Au(III), Pt(IV), Pd(II), Ir(IV), Ir(III) and Rh(III) can be floated from aqueous solutions with cationic surfactants of the type RNR'₃Br. The flotation behavior of each metal is reported with respect to variations of hydrochloric acid and sodium chloride concentrations, the R and R' chain lengths, initial surfactant concentrations and initial metal ion concentrations. The flotation behavior of the metals is compared to the anion-exchange selectivity coefficients and a flotation selectivity sequence of Au(III) > Pt(IV), Ir(IV), Pd(II) > Ir(III) > Rh(III) is generally observed. Nearly 100% of Au(III), Pt(IV), Ir(IV) and Pd(II) can be recovered from dilute solutions using the ion flotation procedures.