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SEEU Review vol. 5 Nr. 2 (pdf) - South East European University

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<strong>SEEU</strong> <strong>Review</strong> Volume 5, No. 2, 2009<br />

due to their excellent selectivity for the targeted metal ion and the very rapid<br />

kinetics exhibited by these reagents.<br />

Alkylamine extractants have been one of the major classes of solvent<br />

extraction reagents since the inception of solvent extraction as a large-scale<br />

hydrometallurgical technique. 7,8 Numerous amine compounds of all three<br />

classes have been screened and evaluated as extractants for inorganic<br />

species. 9-13 Experience has shown that for practical solvent extraction<br />

applications, an amine has to fulfill certain basic requirements, such as<br />

compatibility with a practical diluent, sufficient extraction power, rapid<br />

phase separation, low aqueous solubility and sufficient chemical stability.<br />

Although exceptions are known, usually only saturated nitrogen compounds<br />

fulfill these requirements of a useful extractant. 14<br />

Solvent extraction by high molecular weight organic bases has become<br />

increasingly popular in recent years in studying metal complexes.<br />

The main interest of metal extraction by the reagents reviewed in the<br />

forthcoming sections lies in their selectivity towards anionic metal<br />

complexes, reversibly formed in an aqueous solution, rather than towards<br />

simple anions. The extraction by high molecular weight amines is considered<br />

to take place by the formation of an ammonium salt, by the reaction:<br />

R 3 N + H + + A - R 3 NH + A - (1)<br />

R 3 N is a water-insoluble, high molecular weight tertiary alkylamine, and<br />

the amine salt R 3 NH + A - is a polar ion-pair with a high ion-association<br />

constant characteristic of ion-pairs composed of bulky unhydrated ions in a<br />

non-ionizing medium. The amine salt may undergo, under proper<br />

experimental conditions, an anion exchange reaction:<br />

R 3 NH + A - + B - R 3 NH + B - + A - (2)<br />

Bearing apparent similarity to the process on solid anion exchange resins.<br />

Materials and Methods<br />

In this work the selection of the elements for extraction was made from<br />

the table of elements where information can be found on extraction of the<br />

elements and their form whilst applying tertiary amine with high molecular<br />

mass. 15 Since the possibility of a wide exchange exists, we decided to extract<br />

215

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