Microfluidic solvent extraction of zinc from low concentration sulfate solution using D2EHPA

Abstract

Microfluidic solvent extraction of zinc from sulfate solution was studied using di-2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid, D2EHPA, in sulfonated kerosene as diluent. The influence of different parameters on the extraction of zinc, such as flow rate, temperature, flow rate ratio, extraction concentration, and saponification ratio of extractant were investigated and the conventional and microfluidic extraction were compared. Under the optimized conditions, microfluidic extraction efficiency of zinc is up to 97.1%. It is better than that conventional extraction. Therefore, microfluidic solvent extraction can achieve high efficiency and low consumption of extraction process.