pH effect on the physicochemical characteristics and efficiency of electroflotation extraction of low-soluble iron subgroup metal compounds from aqueous solutions

This paper reports on our study of the pH effect of solutions on the average hydrodynamic diameter (d_av) of the particles of the disperse phase and the electrokinetic potential (ζ) of the particles of low-soluble iron subgroup metals compounds using Fe(II, III), Ni(II), and Co(II) compounds as an example. The pH effect of solutions on the efficiency of the electroflotation extraction of metal ions from aqueous solutions containing these ions in individual form or in mixture was studied. The efficiency of the electroflotation extraction of the low-soluble compounds of iron subgroup metals is directly related to the particle size and electrokinetic potential of the particles, which depend on рН. The maximum degree of particle extraction α reached 97–99% at рН values characterized by the maximum hydrodynamic diameter of particles (over 20 μm for Fe(II) and Co(II) compounds and over 50 μm for Fe(III) and Ni(II) compounds) at ζ potentials of up to–10 mV for systems approximated to real wastewater. In the case of the extraction of the disperse phase of the Fe(III)–Ni(II)–Co(II) multicomponent system, the synergic effect was observed: the coextraction of metals was more complete and effective, which may be due to suppressed negative charge. In the range of рН 10–11, the degree of extraction of the Fe(III) disperse phase did not exceed 74%; in the ternary system, it reached 94%.