Demulsification Behavior of Alkali and Organic Acid in Zinc Extraction

Abstract

Alkali agents could be used to enhance the extraction of zinc from solution of high concentration, but excess alkali can sensitively lead to emulsification of the solution. In this paper, the emulsification in the extraction process, demulsification, and extraction with different additives and its action mechanism were studied. The results indicate that the associated addition of alkali and organic acid could eliminate emulsification and improve zinc extraction. The extraction ratio of zinc reached 99.61% under the conditions of 104 mL/L organic acid, 80 g/L alkali, and 40% extractant concentration. Zinc hydroxide formed from hydroxyl and zinc ion at sensitively increased pH was the cause of emulsification during extraction. Associated addition of alkali and organic acid could contribute to the control solution pH in the range of 3.0–4.0, which is lower than that of the formation of zinc hydroxide, and therefore, improve zinc extraction.

Keywords

• demulsification
• zinc extraction
• saponification pre-treatment
• alkali and organic acid
• zinc hydroxide