Solvent extraction of zinc from sulphate leaching solution of a sulphide-oxide sample using D2EHPA and Cyanex 272

Solvent extraction of zinc from sulphate leach solution obtained from the treatment of a sulphide-oxide sample, was investigated using D2EHPA and Cyanex 272 diluted in kerosene in a batch reactor. According to the results, D2EHPA exhibited the higher extraction efficiencies than Cyanex 272 at the organic/aqueous ratio of 1:1. The optimum concentration and pH for D2EHPA and Cyanex 272 were distinguished to be 0.5?mol/L and 2.5, and 0.035?mol/L and 3.5, respectively. Under these conditions, extraction efficiency was found to be ～75% for D2EHPA against 41% for Cyanex 272. The plot of log D versus log D2EHPA] confirmed the presence of 1 mole D2EHPA in dimeric form for 1 mole Zn in the extraction system. Thermodynamic data showed that the zinc extraction process is endothermic. For D2EHPA, two-stage simulated counter-current extraction experiments were performed on the basis of the McCabe-Thiele diagram and the extraction percentage of zinc was found to be about 88%. The synergistic effect of Cyanex 272 and TBP with D2EHPA was particularly investigated. It was found that the mixture of 80% D2EHPA and 20% Cyanex 272 exhibited the best synergistic effect for Zn-extraction with a synergistic coefficient of 1.04.