Abstract
The separation of Fe(III) from simulated Ni(II) solutions using different ion exchange resins was studied. The resins tested included cation exchangers with sulfonic and carboxylic groups and chelating resins with iminodiacetic, aminophosphonic, and mixed sulfonic and phosphonic groups. The dosage of resins was varied from 0.1 to 0.5 g/mL to study the impact of resin type and dosage on iron separation from simulated nickel leach solution containing 25 g/L Ni(II) and 25 g/L Fe(III) at pH 1.5. Also, the effects of different metal ion concentrations, Fe(III):Ni(II) ratios in solution, pH, and adsorption times were investigated. Experimental results demonstrate that all the chelating resins selected favored the adsorption of Fe(III) over Ni(II) with high Fe(III) loading. Soft cation exchange resins also favored the adsorption of Fe(III) over Ni(II), but no significant Fe(III) loading was observed. In contrast, strong cation exchange resins did not show adsorption preferences. The most efficient separation was observed using resin with aminophosphonic groups at resin dosage of 0.2 g/mL, having a Fe(III) adsorption over 94% and Ni(II) adsorption below 5%.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for funding our research in related areas (“Relationship between Chemical Structure and Adsorption Preference to Metal Ions of Chelating Resins and Their Applications in Removal of Iron from Copper Leach Solutions”, Application #RGPIN-2017-04354).
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Silva, R.A., Zhang, Y., Hawboldt, K., James, L., Saunders, W. (2018). Selective Separation of Iron from Simulated Nickel Leach Solutions Using Ion Exchange Technology. In: Davis, B., et al. Extraction 2018. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95022-8_181
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95022-8_181
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