Issue 31, 2014

Microfluidic solvent extraction and separation of cobalt and nickel

Abstract

The extraction and separation of cobalt from sulphate solution containing Ni2+ and Co2+ by the process of microfluidic extraction was investigated on a counter-current flow interdigital micromixer with channels of 40 μm width, which has two opposite inlets and an upwards outlet. Meanwhile, the comparative batch extraction experiments were conducted in separatory funnels. The effects of pH and flow rates or contact time on the microfluidic and batch experiments were studied using an aqueous solution containing 73.09 g L−1 of nickel and 2.44 g L−1 of cobalt and 20 vol% PC88A diluted with 260# solvent naphtha. In addition, cobalt extraction isotherms (Mc-Cabe Thiele) were constructed to determine the number of stages. The results of percentage extraction and separation factor of microfluidic extraction was better than that of batch extraction. The features of the microreactors, i.e. large specific surface area and short diffusion distance were effective for the efficient extraction and separation of cobalt from nickel.

Graphical abstract: Microfluidic solvent extraction and separation of cobalt and nickel

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Nov 2013
Accepted
19 Mar 2014
First published
27 Mar 2014

RSC Adv., 2014,4, 16081-16086

Author version available

Microfluidic solvent extraction and separation of cobalt and nickel

L. Zhang, J. Peng, S. Ju, L. Zhang, L. Dai and N. Liu, RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 16081 DOI: 10.1039/C4RA00458B

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