New mixed solvent systems for the extraction and separation of ferric iron in sulphate solutions

Sulphuric acid is the reagent often used for the leaching of solid materials such as ores and concentrates and iron is usually present in the leach solution as an impurity. The most difficult problem associated with the solvents that have been studied for iron removal in sulphate solution is the stripping of iron from the organic phase. Several mixed solvent systems for iron removal were developed in this work. These solvents have the common feature that iron extracted into the organic phase can be stripped with dilute sulphuric acid. The extraction and stripping for some of the mixed solvent systems have been studied and a mechanism is proposed.