Zinc Extraction Kinetics Studies in the Lewis Cell Based on Conductivity Measurements

Abstract

In the current study, a novel procedure for studying the zinc solvent extraction kinetics in the Lewis cell is presented. In this study, three steps were followed. In the first step, using the response surface methodology (RSM), the conductivity relation as a function of the pH and the zinc concentration was found. With respect to this model, knowing the pH and the conductivity of a zinc solution, the zinc concentration of the solution is obtained. In the next step, with respect to the RSM design of the experiment, an optimum condition, in which the high extraction of zinc occurred in the Lewis cell, was found to be the pH of 2.88 and the initial zinc concentration of 14.96 g/L. In the final step, the kinetic study was carried out on the solution with the aforementioned condition. Taking into account the mathematical kinetic models obtained by the Lewis cell, the extraction of zinc(II) from a zinc sulfate solution with D2EHPA was limited both by the diffusional and chemical regimes.