Recovery of gallium by silica‐based polymer TBP/SiO₂‐P obtained from hydrochloric acid solution

Abstract

Resin adsorption methods are widely used to recover gallium (Ga) from Bayer liquid. However, when the resin adsorbs Ga(III), a part of vanadium (V), magnesium (Mg), silicon (Si), calcium (Ca), and aluminum (Al) were coextracted with Ga and then was eluted together by using hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution. These impurities would affect the recovery of high-purity Ga by electrolysis. Ga-bearing acid eluted solution treatment followed by secondary adsorption was used to purify Ga(III) by a porous silica-based adsorbent tributyl phosphate (TBP)/SiO 2-P. The adsorption properties of Ga(III) by TBP/SiO 2-P from HCl were investigated. TBP/SiO 2-P exhibits significantly high selectivity toward Ga than other impurities with SF A/B is 3478 in 8 mol/L HCl solution. The adsorption capacity reaches 22.01 mg/g and adsorption equilibrium was obtained within 5 min. Moreover, Ga(III) is easy to be eluted by ultrapure water with a rate of 95.58%. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of Ga fit well with the pseudo-first-order model and Langmuir adsorption model, respectively. TBP/SiO 2-P is an excellent material to recover Ga(III) from HCl solution effectively and efficiently. Moreover, this work provides a potential candidate for purifying Ga from Bayer liquor by the two-step method (purify and adsorb the desorption liquid containing Ga hydrochloride). Highlights • A silica-polymer based adsorbent TBP/SiO 2-P was prepared through a simple vacuum impregnation method and use to purify Ga from Bayer liquor by the two-step method. • A simple and efficient method for Ga purification was proposed with a high-adsorption capacity and short equilibrium time. • In the coexisting ions mixed solution, TBP/SiO 2-P has a high-selective toward Ga(III), Ultrapure water can effectively desorb Ga from adsorbent with the desorption rate of about 95.58%.

Evaluation of Functionalized Amberlite Type XAD7 Polymeric Resin with L-Valine Amino Acid Performance for Gallium Recovery

“…Various methodologies have been devised for Ga(III) recovery from aqueous solutions, encompassing electrochemical processes such as mercury cathode electrolysis [ 13 ], cementation [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], precipitation, solvent extraction, ion exchange [ 19 ], and adsorption techniques [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”