Investigation of Effective Parameters on Zinc Solvent Extraction from Solution Containing Iron and Manganese Ions by D2EHPA

Solvent extraction was applied for the purification of a solution obtained from acid leaching of Mehdiabad oxidized zinc ore. The zinc PLS contained manganese and iron ions. D2EHPA was selected as a suitable organic extractant. At the begining, the effect of pH of aqueous phase and D2EHPA concentration in krosene were studied. Then the necessary numbers of stages were obtained by Mccabe Thiele diagram. D2EHPA at low pH (2.5) and 30% concentration was able to extract 87% of zinc from aqueous phase by 3 stages in the presence of Mn ions. At the end of process stripping experiment was performed by fresh sulfuric acid solution. At this stage, about 95% Zn ion was transferred from organic phase to aqueous phase.