Separation of zinc and cadmium from nickel and cobalt by facilitated transport through bulk liquid membrane using trioctyl methyl ammonium chloride as carrier

Selective transport of Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions from sodium chloride medium through a bulk liquid membrane by using trioctyl methyl ammonium chloride (Aliquat 336) dissolved in benzene was studied at room temperature. The influence of experimental parameters affecting the transport efficiency, including chloride concentration in the sample solution, reagent concentration and type of organic solvent used in the membrane phase, type and concentration of stripping solution in the receiving phase were investigated. The transport yield of Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions from a 0.05 M NaCl solution (pH3, HCl 1 × 10−3 M) through a benzene solution of Aliquat 336 (0.03 M) into the receiving phase (EDTA 0.3 M or NH3 4 M) was found to be 93.0 (± 0.5)% and 80.0 (± 0.7)%, respectively after 5 h. The accessibility of the method was tested for recovery of Cd and Zn from zinc plant purification cake, obtained from Zanjan-Iran, and spent Ni–Cd cells.