Mathematical modeling of cadmium(II) solvent extraction from neutral and acidic chloride media using Cyanex

Abstract

This paper describes experimental work and the mathematical modeling of solvent extraction of cadmium( II) from neutral and acidic aqueous chloride media with a Cyanex 923 extractant in Exxol D-100. Solvent extraction experiments were carried out to analyze the influence of variations in the composition of the aqueous and organic phases on the efficiency of cadmium(II) extraction. In neutral and acidic chloride conditions, the extraction of cadmium(II) by the organophosphorous extractant Cyanex 923 (L) is based on the solvation mechanism of neutral HnCdCl(2+n) species and the formation of HnCdCl(2+n)Lq complexes in the organic phase, where n=0, 1, 2 and q = 1, 2. The mathematical model of cadmium(II) extraction was derived from the mass balances and chemical equilibria involved in the separation system. The model was computed with the Matlab software. The equilibrium parameters for metal extraction, i.e. the stability constants of the aqueous Cd–Cl complexes, the formation constants of the acidic Cd–Cl species and the metal equilibrium extraction constants, were proposed. The optimized constants were appropriate, as there was good agreement when the model was fitted to the experimental data for each of the experiments.