Recovery and separation of lanthanum(III), aluminum(III), cobalt(II), and nickel(II) from misch metal by solvent extraction using bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphinic acid

This paper describes use of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphinic acid as a reagent for extraction and mutual separation of lanthanum(III), aluminum(III), cobalt(II), and nickel(II) in 1.0 mol/L sodium nitrate. The extraction and stripping behavior of the four metal ions has been investigated using the extractant in Solvesso #150 as a diluent. The mutual separation and recovery of the metal ions from their mixtures has been tested by multistage extraction with a conventional separator funnel. A set of separation schemes has also been proposed for a continuous countercurrent multistage extraction which is comprised of ten extraction stages, four scrubbing stages, and seven stripping stages. Lanthanum(III) and aluminum(III) are coextracted but separated by selective stripping into different concentrations of hydrochloric acid. Cobalt(II) can be extracted with the nickel(II)-preloaded extractant solution, whereas nickel(II) remains in the aqueous phase. The successful separation of these metal ions from a misch metal-simulated sample is presented.