Selective separation of Germanium(IV) from simulated industrial leachates containing heavy metals by non-dispersive ionic extraction

Abstract Ge(IV) can be found in industrial leachates of coal gasification fly ashes (CGFA) or zinc resources. In this research, the selective separation of germanium from simulated water leach liquors of CGFA containing Zn(II), Ni(II), Cd(II), and Co(II) was carried out using flat sheet (FSSLM) and hollow fiber supported ionic liquid membrane (HFSLM) systems containing Aliquat 336 as an ionic liquid carrier. As a result, Aliquat 336 was found to be an effective carrier for the selective transport of Ge(IV) from these types of solutions. In addition, the selective transport of germanium was performed from a simulated acidic zinc leach liquor using an FSSLM system. According to the results obtained, sulfuric acid in zinc leach liquors has not an insignificant effect on the transport of germanium in comparison to a water medium consisting of CGFA leach liquors. The germanium transport from both types of solutions was selective and its efficiency reached >98%. Finally, the facilitated transport of germanium was conducted in an HFSLM under the same condition obtained using the FSSLM system. It was observed that this system could transport the maximum amounts of germanium species in the first 30 min, showing its faster transport than that of the FSSLM system.