Selective stripping of Cobalt from Manganese by D2EHPA+TBP in sulfate solution

Separation of Co from Mn in the extraction step of solvent extraction is very difficult and complex because of their same characters. In this article, separation of Co and Mn using selective stripping in sulfate phase by 20% D2EHPA+ 5% TBP has been investigated. Co and Mn concentrates in initial experiment’s solution were 1.6 g/L and 8.7 g/L, respectively. The influence of three parameters on the course of the striping such as sulfuric acid concentrate, temperature and stripping time was examined. The optimum selective stripping conditions were found to be sulfuric acid concentrate: 8 g/L, stripping time: 5 min and temperature: 25°C. Using the optimized conditions, the Co and Mn stripping were 93.00% and 14.94%, respectively.