Electrostatic separation of impurities phase from liquid-liquid extraction

In a liquid-liquid extraction process wherein metal values are recovered from an aqueous metal-containing leach liquor by treating said liquor with an organic extracting medium comprising an organic solvent containing an organic extracting agent and wherein during the separation of the organic extracting medium phase from the aqueous solution phase in a separation vessel used in such a process, a third phase dispersion layer of impurities is formed containing a major amount of organic solvent and minor amounts of aqueous solution and undissolved particulate matter, the improvement which comprises:

• (a) removing said third phase layer from the organic extract and aqueous phases in said separation vessel;
• (b) feeding said removed third phase layer to a coalescing zone through which an electrostatic field is applied so as to cause the aqueous solution and particulate matter entrained in the organic solvent of the third phase layer to coalesce and separate and thereby directly form in said coalescing zone an organic phase depleted in aqueous and particulate matter suitable for return to the organic extracting medium of the extraction process, an aqueous phase depleted in organic and particulate matter suitable for return to the leach liquor of the extraction process, and a separate aqueous material containing undissolved particulate matter;
• (c) separating the formed organic phase, aqueous phase and aqueous material containing undissolved particulate matter;
• (d) returning said separated organic phase to the extraction process;
• and
• (e) returning said separated aqueous phase to the extraction process.