Separating molybdenum values from an aqueous solution containing tungsten by solvent extraction

A process for separating molybdenum values from an aqueous solution containing molybdenum and tungsten values comprising the following steps:

• (a) forming an aqueous solution comprising less than about five grams per liter sodium molybdate and from about fifty to about two hundred grams per liter sodium tungstate;
• (b) sulfidizing said aqueous solution to form a sulfidized solution, said sulfidizing being carried out to an extent sufficient to convert substantially all of the sodium molybdate to sodium thiomolybdenum species, said sulfidizing being substantially less than the extent necessary to convert substantially all of said sodium tungstate to sodium thiotungsten species;
• (c) contacting said sulfidized aqueous solution at a pH of from about eight to about nine and one-half with a suitable amount of organic extractant for a sufficient period of time to preferentially extract greater than ninety percent of the sodium thiomolybdenum species into the organic extractant, said organic extractant consisting essentially of tricaprylyl monomethyl ammonium chloride as the active extractant and the balance being an organic solvent comprising a mixture of alkyl benzenes having total carbon atoms in the alkyl group of from three to five, said active extractant being present as a volume percent of total organic extractant in an amount less than about three percent by volume wherein said volume percent is selected to result in greater than ninety percent of the sodium thiomolybdenum species and less than about five percent of the sodium thiotungsten species present in said solution being extracted,
• (d) separating the organic extractant containing the sodium thiomolybdenum species from the sulfidized aqueous solution containing sodium thiotungsten values,
• (e) stripping molybdenum values from the separated organic extractant by contacting said organic extractant with an aqueous solution containing sufficient amount of oxidizing agent suitable for oxidizing said molybdenum values to molybdate ion, and
• (f) recycling said extracted solution to step (c) to extract further molybdenum values.