US 4,507,268 A · Solvent extraction

Abstract

Reagents formulated by admixture of selected hydroxy aryl ketoxime and hydroxyl aryl aldoxime extractants provide for efficient recovery of metal values, especially copper values, by solvent extraction processes. Specified kinetic and equilibrium conditions, which would require use of predetermined quantities of kinetic additives if ketoximes alone were employed or predetermined quantities of equilibrium modifiers if aldoximes were employed, are secured through formulation of reagents including both ketoxime and aldoxime extractants with less than the predetermined quantities of kinetic additive or equilibrium modifier. Reagents employed in methods of the invention may include from 0 to about 20 mole percent of a kinetic additive based on ketoxime content and also optionally a modifier of extraction and stripping equilibria in an amount providing a degree of modification of the aldoxime constituent of from about 0.75 to 1.0 and preferably from about 0.90 to 1.0.

Claims38

Dependent claims

A reagent composition comprising:

(a) one or more hydroxy aryl ketoxime compounds of Formula I or II, ##STR7## in which R and R' may be individually alike or different and are saturated aliphatic groups of 1-25 carbon atoms, ethylenically unsaturated aliphatic groups of 3-25 carbon atoms or --OR" where R" is a saturated or ethylenically unsaturated aliphatic group as defined;
n is 0 or 1;
and a and b are each 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, with the proviso that both are not 0 and the total number of carbon atoms in R.sub.a and R'.sub.b is from 3 to 25, ##STR8## in which R and a are as defined with respect to Formula I and R'" is a saturated aliphatic group of 1-25 carbon atoms or an ethylenically unsaturated aliphatic group of 3-25 carbon atoms, with the proviso that the total number of carbon atoms in R.sub.a and R'" is from 3 to 25;
(b) one or more hydroxy aryl aldoxime compounds of Formula III, ##STR9## in which R is as defined above with respect to Formulas I and II, c has a value of 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the total number of carbon atoms in R.sub.c is from 3 to 25;
(c) a kinetic additive substance in an amount of from 0 to 20 mole percent based on hydroxy aryl ketoxime present;
and,
(d) an extraction and stripping equilibrium modifier substance in an amount providing for a degree of modification of the hydroxy aryl aldoxime present of from about 0.75 to about 1.0,
the mole ratio of hydroxy aryl ketoxime present to hydroxy aryl aldoxime present being from 1:100 to 100:1.

5 more elements

In the method of formulating a reagent composition for use in a continuous solvent extraction process for the recovery of copper values under specified conditions of equilibrium and kinetics wherein, (1) the use of one or more selected hydroxy aryl ketoxime extractants alone would require addition of a predetermined molar quantity of kinetic additive substance to secure the specified kinetic condition, or (2) the use of one or more selected hydroxy aryl aldoxime extractants alone would require addition of a predetermined molar quantity of one or more extraction and stripping equilibrium modifier substances to secure the specified equilibrium conditions, the improvement comprising formulating the reagent composition by (a) incorporating both the one or more selected ketoxime extractants and the one or more selected aldoxime extractants in a mole ratio of from 1:100 to 100:1, and (b) incorporating less than said predetermined molar quantities of kinetic additive and equilibrium modifier substances, whereby the specified kinetic and equilibrium conditions are obtained in the presence of less than said predetermined molar quantities of kinetic additive and equilibrium modifier substances.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Solvent extraction

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Solvent extraction

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims38