Liquid-liquid extraction of Zn(II)-Fe(III) from sulfates in acid medium using ionic liquids.

The liquid ? liquid extraction of Zn(II)/ Fe(II) from sulfates in acid medium (H2SO4) was studied using the ionic liquid (IL) trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (Cy IL 109) as extracting agent, using decanol as modifier and kerosene as diluent. The variables studied were the selectivity of the ionic liquid in the extraction of Zn and Fe metal ions, the extraction equilibrium time and the concentration of the ionic liquid (0.1 ? 1.0 M). The results obtained showed that the IL is selective for Fe(III) at pH 1.8 obtaining 60% extraction and observing that under these same conditions, there was no extraction of Zn(II). The Fe(III) extraction equilibrium was reached after 20 minutes of agitation. On the other hand, it was observed that as the concentration of Cy IL 109 increased, the extraction percentage increased.