LABORATORY AND PILOT-PLANT TEST OF YTTRIUM RECOVERY FROM WASTE-WATER BY ELECTROSTATIC PSEUDO-LIQUID MEMBRANE

This paper is a summary of a laboratory and on-the-spot test of yttriu m recovery from wastewater by an electrostatic pseudo liquid membrane (ESPLIM). The effects of the applied field, extractant concentration, feed concentration, pH and flow rate on Y(III) extraction were studied for optimizing the process. The continuous steady-state operation of the process shows that Y(III) can be effectively recovered from wastew ater containing 1.0 g/l Y(III), and with a one-step operation, Y(III) can be concentrated to 232.4 g/l, which appears to be the best result ever reported using similar techniques. Our on-the-spot test also prov es that ESPLIM is a simple process with high efficiency and low consum ption of reagents and energy.