LIQUID-LIQUID-EXTRACTION APPLIED TO METALS SEPARATION FROM WAELZ OXIDE

Metal recovery from ''Waelz oxide,'' the product obtained from steel f oundry dusts through a pyrometallurgical process, and the slag obtaine d in this process has been carried out by liquid-liquid extraction. Fo r this purpose, leaching of the solid samples was attained by microwav e digestion with HCl. The extraction of 13 elements in the leachates w as studied using the alkylthiophosphinic acid Cyanex 302 in kerosene a nd varying the acidity conditions and the extractant concentration. Th e experimental results on the extraction of cadmium, lead, and zinc ha ve been compared with the theoretical behavior obtained by taking into account equilibrium extraction data reported for the extraction of th ese elements from synthetic individual solutions.