EXTRACTION OF COPPER BY LIX65N IN A VESSEL AND A MULTI-STAGE COLUMN UNDER STIRRED CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT The extraction experiments of copper from aqueous solutions of copper sulfate by LIX65N-kerosene solutions were carried out at 25°C in liquid-liquid dispersions. Both reaction rates of the forward and backward extractions were obtained in a stirred vessel, being combined with the equilibrium data. For a multistage column in continuous operation, the holdup data of the dispersed organic phase were correlated with the stirring speed, flow rates and LIX65N concentration. It was found that the extracted fraction of copper in the multi-stage column can be predicted from a stage-to-stage calculation using the extraction kinetics and the holdup obtained in the present work.