Symmetrical quaternary ammonium compounds and their use in heavy metals recovery
AssigneeAlbee Laboratories, Inc.
InventorGuy A. Rich
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Abstract
Symmetrical quaternary ammonium compounds of the formula ##STR1## are disclosed, wherein each Ar is identical and is phenyl or a condensed polynuclear aryl group having 2 to 4 aryl nuclei, each R is identical and is alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, X.sup..crclbar. is a salt-forming anion of valence 1 or 2 and n is 1 or 2 depending on the choice of X. Also disclosed are apparatus and processes for the recovery of heavy metals such as silver, gold and other precious metals from solution in water. The disclosed quaternary ammonium compounds are adsorbed to a suitable substrate, preferably alumina, and the treatment water is passed therethrough. A second bed of divided metal such as aluminum is disclosed for use in series with the bed incorporating the quaternary ammonium compounds.
Claims10
The process for recovering heavy metals from solution comprising passing the metals containing solution through a bed of absorbing substrate having deposited thereon an effective amount of a quaternary ammonium compound of the formula ##STR9## wherein each Ar is identical and is a phenyl or a condensed polynuclear aryl group having 2 to 4 aryl nuclei, each R is identical and is an alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and X is a halogen.
The process for recovering heavy metals from solution, comprising:
- (a) passing the metals containing solution through a bed of absorbing substrate having deposited thereon an effective amount of a quaternary ammonium compound of the formula ##STR10## wherein each Ar is identical and is a phenyl or a condensed polynuclear aryl group having 2 to 4 aryl nuclei, each R is identical and is an alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and X is a halogen;
- and
- (b) recovering the heavy metals from said bed by removing the mixture of spent bed material with the insoluble heavy metal compounds trapped therein, centrifruging the mixture to separate the heavy metal compounds and processing the heavy metal compounds to recover the elemental metals.
The process for recovering heavy metals from solution, comprising:
- (a) passing the metals containing solution through a first bed of absorbing substrate having deposited thereon an effective amount of a quaternary ammonium compound of the formula ##STR11## wherein each Ar is identical and is a phenyl or a condensed polynuclear aryl group having 2 to 4 aryl nuclei, each R is identical and is an alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and X is a halogen;
- (b) passing the metals containing solution, after having been treated in said first bed, through a second bed of a suitably reactive metal selected to be of lower electronegativity than the heavy metal being recovered, in a suitable divided form;
- and
- (c) recovering the heavy metals from said first and second beds by removing the mixture of spent bed material with the insoluble heavy metal compounds trapped therein, centrifuging the mixture to separate the heavy metal compounds and processing the heavy metal compounds to recover the elemental metals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.