Abstract

Two commercial resins were evaluated for the extraction of iron from a copper electrowinning solution. Both resins efficiently extract iron. The Monophosphonic resin has a greater charge capacity than the Diphonix resin and the Diphonix resin shows faster kinetics. Experimental results of the interrupted test and tests with different particle size of resins have demonstrated that extraction kinetics is controlled by diffusion into the particle in both resins. A good agreement with Fick's model for diffusion inside the particles confirms the proposed mechanism. Finally, temperature favors the process kinetics and its effect on the diffusion coefficient follows Arrhenius law, obtaining a value of 4,89 kcal/mol for the Monophosphonic resin and 4,94 kcal/mol for the Dphonix resin. The aforementioned values are close to typical values for the proposed diffusional control which are 6 to 10 kcal/mol.