Ultrasonic Assisted Microchannel Extraction of Fe(III) from Wet-Process Phosphoric Acid

Abstract

An ultrasonic assisted microchannel extraction (UAME) method was developed for the extraction of Fe(III) from wet-process phosphoric acid with di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA). The influences of ultrasonic power, extractant concentration, water phase velocity and the ratio of the organic and aqueous phases (O/A) on the extraction rate of Fe(III) were systematically studied. The results showed that the extraction efficiency of Fe(III) reached 91.08%, which was significantly higher than that for ultrasound extraction and microchannel extraction respectively. Response surface methodology was adopted to obtain the optimal conditions and to evaluate the significance of variables affecting the extraction efficiency. The extraction efficiency of Fe(III) reached 92.24% under the following optimum conditions: extractant concentration, 2.1 mol/L; aqueous phase velocity, 0.055 mL/min; ratio of organic phase and aqueous phase, 2.98.