Extraction of aluminum from a pickling bath with supported liquid membrane extraction

A. M. Berends*, G. J. Witkamp, G. M. Van Rosmalen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Large amounts of waste are produced yearly in the galvanic and chemical surface treatment industry. Bath liquids used in the various processes lose their function due to contamination. The spent bath liquids have to be replaced and treated prior to disposal, leading to high costs and a high environmental burden. In this paper, a proposed solution to the problem is investigated: the selective removal of the contaminant with supported liquid membrane extraction. The extraction of aluminum, a contaminant at high concentrations, from a pickling bath liquid with hydrofluoric acid and phosphoric acid as its main components has been carried out with the basic extractants Alamine 308 and Alamine 336 in a flat sheet-supported liquid membrane setup. Aluminum transport rates were obtained in the order of 10-6-10-5 mol/(m2·s), which are normal values for this technique. The extraction was not completely selective as dissolved phosphorous was coextracted. In all experiments, precipitation took place on the surface of the liquid membrane and in the bulk of the strip phase. Increasing the stripping alkalinity from pH = 8 to pH = 13 reduced the amount of precipitation in the bulk of the strip phase but caused a substantial decrease in the aluminum flux. The precipitation prevents industrial application of the systems investigated.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1521-1543
Number of pages23
JournalSeparation Science and Technology
Volume34
Issue number6-7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1999
Externally publishedYes
EventProceedings of the 1997 10th Symposium on Separation Science and Technology for Energy Applications - Gatlinburg, TN, USA
Duration: Oct 20 1997Oct 24 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Process Chemistry and Technology
  • Filtration and Separation

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