Abstract

SOUSA JUNIOR, Clenilson da Silva; NASCIMENTO, Marisa  and  FERREIRA, Izabelle Lannes Salgueiro. Modeling of nickel extraction by D2EHPA in sulfuric media. Rem: Rev. Esc. Minas [online]. 2011, vol.64, n.4, pp. 447-452. ISSN 0370-4467.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0370-44672011000500009.

The nickel extraction, from the system NiSO₄ - H₂SO₄ - H₂O - D2EHPA - Isoparaffin, was studied by a thermodynamic model based on balanced equations for mass and charge. The activity coefficients of all solutes in the aqueous phase were calculated by the modified Davies’s equation. By applying this model, the concentration of solutes in the equilibrium was calculated from the values of the total concentration of nickel in solution and pH. The metal extracted species was determined to be NiA2 (where HA is D2EHPA), and the equilibrium constant of the extraction was found to have a value of 2,83 E-2 from the calculation of non-linear regression realized with the experimental data. The values of distribution coefficients predicted by the model for nickel extraction were in good agreement when compared with experimental results.

Keywords : Nickel; modeling; solvent extraction.