Separation of Precious Metals through a Trioctylamine Liquid Membrane

Abstract

The extraction behavior of precious metals (PMs) from HCl media has been studied using trioctylamine (TOA) in kerosene. The extraction sequence of PMs was found to be Au(III) > Pd(II), Pt(IV), Ir(IV) > Ir(III). Ru. Transport of PMs was performed through a supported liquid membrane (SLM) impregnated with TOA as a mobile carrier from the HCl feed solution into the HClO₄ or HNO₃ product solution. Selective transport; and recovery of PMs from certain mixtures were accomplished across the TOA-SLM on the basis of differences in extraction equilibria and kinetics.