Separation of lithium and nickel using ionic liquids and tributyl phosphate

With the vigorous development of the electronics industry,the consumption of lithium continues to increase,and more lithium needs to be mined to meet the development of the industry.The content of lithium in the solution is much higher than that of minerals,but the interference of impurity ions increases the difficulty of extracting lithium ions.Therefore,we prepared an imidazole-based ionic liquid(1-butyl-3-methylImidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide)(IL)for efficient lithium extraction from aqueous solutions by solvent extraction.Using an extraction consisting of 10%IL,85% tributyl phosphate(TBP),and 5% dichloroethane and an organic to aqueous phase ratio(O/A)of 2/1,over 64.23% of Li were extracted,and the extraction rate after five-stage extraction could reach more than 96%.The addition of ammonium ions to the solution inhibited the extraction of Ni,and the separation coefficient between lithium and nickel approached infinity,showing a very perfect separation effect.Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy and slope methods were used to analyze the changes that occurred during extraction,revealing possible extraction mechanisms.In addition,the LiCl solution generated during the preparation of ionic liquids was mixed with the stripping solution,and the battery-grade lithium carbonate was prepared by Na_(2)CO_(3) precipitation,with a purity of 99.74%.This study provides an efficient and sustainable strategy for recovering lithium from the solution.

Preparation of bowl-shaped polydopamine surface imprinted polymer composite adsorbent for specific separation of 2'-deoxyadenosine

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have great potential as adsorbents for selective adsorption and separation of nucleoside compounds,but effectively enhancing the affinity of recognition sites by adjusting the forces between template molecules and functional monomers remains an important challenge.In this work,a surface imprinting strategy was used to construct bowl-shaped molecularly imprinted composite sorbents (BHPN@MIPs) based on polydopamine (PDA) particles and have achieved selective separation and purification of 2'-deoxyadenosine (dA).Where by the base complementary pairing interaction of the combined template molecule d A and the pyrimidine functional monomer can enhance the preassembly force,and the hydrophilic bowl-shaped PDA can provide a larger storage space contact efficiency of d A in the test solution,causing the site utilization much higher and improving the kinetic adsorption performance.The equilibrium adsorption time and maximum adsorption capacity of60 min and 328.45μmol·g^(-1)were observed by static adsorption experiments,and the selectivity experimental results showed an imprinting factor IF of 1.30.After four adsorption–desorption cycles,the initial adsorption equilibrium adsorption capacity of BHPN@MIPs still retained 91.14%.By evaluating the selective adsorption of d A in spiked human serum solutions,BHPN@MIPs can be used to selectively enrich and analyze target d A in complex biological samples.

Quantitatively probing interactions between membrane with adaptable wettability and oil phase in oil/water separation

The membrane method based on adaptive wettability shows great advantages in oil-water separation.At present,researches focus on the excellent application performance of the membrane material,while the quantitative analysis of interactions in oil-water separation is rarely recognized.Herein,we constructed an adaptable wettability membrane with multiple polymer networks by polydopamine(PDA)and mussel-inspired amphiphilic polymer.Based on the Owens three-probe liquid method,the surface energy of the modified membrane was verified to meet the adaptive wettability conditions,with surface energies(γ-8)of 147.6 mJ m^(−2)(superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic)and 49.87 mJ m^(−2)(superhydrophobic/superoleophobic),respectively.The adhesion or repulsion of the membrane to the oil phase under different conditions during the separation process was quantified by the chemical probe AFM technique.In addition,the oil-water selective separation mechanism was further analyzed in a simplified membrane microchannel model.The results show that the different wetting produces capillary additional pressure in opposite directions,resulting in different energies to be overcome when the oil or water passes through the microchannels,thus achieving selective separation.

Selective separation of Cu(Ⅱ),Zn(Ⅱ),and Cd(Ⅱ)by solvent extraction

An experimental investigation was presented on the separation of Cu（Ⅱ）, Zn（Ⅱ）, and Cd（Ⅱ） from a rich sulfate leachate of zinc slag by solvent extraction. The results of orthogonal experiments indicate that LIX 984N is highly selective and very efficient in the extraction of Cu（Ⅱ）, and the analysis of variance indicates that the sequence of parameters according to their influence on the separation efficiency is phase ratio 〉 LIX 984N concentration 〉 pH value 〉 extraction time. The optimal condition for copper extraction is obtained as 25% of LIX 984N concentration, 7 rain of extraction time, 3：2 of phase ratio O/A, and pH = 1.7. The separation of Zn（Ⅱ） and Cd（Ⅱ） was performed after the copper extraction from the raffinate. Comparative analysis of the separation with di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid （D2EHPA）, D2EHPA-tributyl- phosophate （TBP） synergistic extracting system, and 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono 2-ethylhexyl ester （HEHEHP） was made at pH = 2.0. It is demonstrated that the extraction efficiency with D2EHPA is improved after being saponified by sodium hydroxide, and D2EHPA-TBP synergistic extracting, as well as HEHEHP, has a superior selectivity to Zn（Ⅱ） over Cd（Ⅱ）.

Selective separation of gallium from aluminum in SDS–Ga–Al and SDS–Ga–Al–fluoride systems by ion flotation

Selective separation of gallium from aluminum by ion flotation using sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) as an anionic surfactant and fluoride as an inorganic ligand was investigated. The experimental results were analyzed using the stability constants and speciation diagrams of fluoride metal complexes. The presence of fluoride in the solution has a positive influence upon the separation of gallium from aluminum. The results show that increasing the fluoride concentration makes a more effective separation of gallium from aluminum because of a simultaneous increase in the complexion of aluminum with fluoride and a change in the electrical charge of the aluminum(ALF_4^-). The dehydration model of LIU and DOYLE was also applied to compare the ion flotation and the selectivity coefficients of gallium over aluminum with experimental results.

A Novel Material for Selective Separation of Mono-galactosyldiacylglycerols from Microalgae

Monogalactosyldiacylglycerols(MGDGs)have potential applications in food products,cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.MGDGs from microalgae with high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFAs)have potential functions,which arise the interest of the researchers.MGDGs were prepared by silica gel column chromatography with the appropriate mobile phase,while due to the similarity to molecular structure of MGDGs,digalactosyldiacylglycerols(DGDGs)were the most difficult impurities to separate during the extraction process of MGDGs from Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1 and Arthrospira platensis.In order to obtain MGDGs from microalgae using low toxic solvent system,a novel material Click thiol-ene cysteine(Click TE-Cys)was employed to achieve its selective separation by differentiation of the hydrophilic interaction.The mixture of MGDGs and DGDGs standards were separated from each other by Click TE-Cys solid phase extraction(SPE),which was further confirmed by the result of LC-MS.The molecular interaction of MGDGs and DGDGs with Click TE-Cys demonstrated that DGDGs had more hydrogen bonds with Click TE-Cys material,which might cause a higher hydrophilic interaction.In this study,the Click TE-Cys material exhibited higher hydrophilicity with DGDGs and effectively separated MGDGs from 4 species microalgae by‘flow-through'mode using ethanol as mobile phase.

Selective separation and enrichment of proteins in aqueous two-phase extraction system

A simple aqueous two-phase extraction system （ATPS） of PEG/phosphate was proposed for selective separation and enrichment of proteins. The combination of ATPE with HPLC was applied to identify the partition of proteins in two phases. Five proteins （bovine serum albumin, Cytochrome C, lysozyme, myoglobin, and trypsin） were used as model proteins to study the effect of phosphate concentration and pH on proteins partition. The PEG/phosphate system was firstly applied to real human saliva and plasma samples, some proteins showed obviously different partition in two phases. The primary results manifest the selective separation and enrichment of proteins in ATPS provided the potential for high abundance proteins depletion in proteomics. ~ 2009 Feng Qu. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

Selective separation of pyrene from mixed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a hexahedral metal-organic cage

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)play an important role in the industry,and the development of new materials for the selective separation of PAHs is of great significance.In this work,we report a hexahedral metal-organic cage with low symmetry by subcomponent self-assembly.In this cage,the eight ZnII centers adopt an interestin∧∧/△△△△△△or∧∧∧∧∧∧/△△configuration.This cage with a cavity volume of 520˚A3 can bind anthracene,phenanthrene,and pyrene to form 1:1 host-guest complexes,while the bigger triphenylene,chrysene,perylene,and coronene cannot be encapsulated.The binding constant Ka of pyrene is about 1.110×10^(3)(mol/L)^(−1),which is more than an order of magnitude larger than that of anthracene and phenanthrene(111(mol/L)^(−1),277(mol/L)^(−1),respectively).X-ray structure studies reveal that the pyrene is located in the cavity and stabilized by multiple C–H…πinteractions.After separation from a mixture of PAHs,pyrene with>96.1%purity can be obtained.This work provides a useful method for the first time for the selective separation of pyrene from PAHs mixture by utilizing a metal-organic cage as the material,making it a useful tool for purifying and separating specific compounds from complex mixtures.

Ion imprinted polymer particles of neodymium:synthesis,characterization and selective recognition

Neodymium ion imprinted polymer（Nd^3＋-IIP） particles for selective solid-phase extraction of Nd^3＋ were prepared and determined with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry（ICP-AES）.The unleached Nd^3＋-IIP particles were prepared by the copoly-merization of Nd^3＋-5,7-dichloroquinoline-8-ol-4-vinylpyridine ternary complex with styrene and divinyl benzene, then Nd^3＋ was leached to obtain Nd^3＋-IIP particles.The adsorption capacity of the Nd3＋-IIP was 35.18 mg/g.The largest selectivity coefficient for Nd3＋ in the presence of competitive ions such as La^3＋, Ce^3＋, Pr^3＋ and Sm^3＋ was over 110.The proposed method was validated by analyzing two certified reference materials（GBW07301a sediment and GBW07401 soil） and the determined values were in a good agreement with standard values.The method was convenient, selective, sensitive and applicable to the determination of trace Nd^3＋ in environmental samples with complicated matrix.

Investigation and Preparation of Novel Ionic Sieve for Extracting Neodymium

A novel ionic sieve with high selectivity and acid resistance to remove Nd 3+ in aqueous liquid was prepared, in which zirconium phosphate is used to be the substrate. The mechanism of selective separation on the surface of ionic sieve of removal of neodymium(Nd-IS) was explored by analyzing fourier transformation infrared spectra (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the results of selective experiment. The investigation suggests that Nd 3+ was introduced into the substrate and the reactions occurred in solid phase by thermodynamic recrystallization, then the Nd 3+ was extracted from the substrate by keeping its microstructures unchanged, which provides Nd 3+ cavities with special selectivity to adsorb Nd 3+. The ionic sieve has a special binding formed by chemical modification to capture Nd 3+. The ionic sieve is applied to removal of neodymium from strong acid condition and it is shown that it possesses a special selectivity for Nd 3+ in the aqueous, which provides a new way to extract and reclaim the radioactive americium in the High Level Liquid Radioactive Waste with an excellent selectivity.

Processing, Recovery and Analysis of Precious Metals Using Molecular Recogntion Technology

IBC Advanced Technologies' Molecular Recognition Technology(MRT) products,trade named SuperLig,selectively and rapidly bind with target metal ions to remove them from solution.The MRT process can produce a high purity separation product of maximum added value at low cost.In this paper,applications of MRT in the precious metals industry,including selective commercial separations involving Au,Pd,Pt,Rh,and Ru,are described and discussed.Application of MRT to the analytical determination of precious metals is presented.Potential use of MRT in recovering precious metals from end-of-life(EOL) products is discussed.

Selective capture and separation of xenon and krypton using metal organic frameworks: a review

Xenon and krypton are widespread useful noble gases in commercial lighting, lasers, electronics, and medical industry. At the same time, radioactive noble gases may proliferate from used nuclear fuel and diffuse in open atmospheres. Metal organic frameworks as hotspot porous materials for gases uptake and separation are considered to be potential solutions. In this review, we comprehensively summarized recent researches on metal organic frameworks for selective capture and separation of xenon and krypton. Particularly, we followed the aspects of different optimal design strategies, including optimal pore/cage size and geometry, open metal sites, ions (anions and cations), and polar functional groups for enhancing the xenon adsorption and separation performances. Meanwhile, a comparison of each strategy and the mechanisms of xenon/krypton separation were pointed out. The separation of krypton from gases mixtures by dual-bed systems was further discussed. Finally, some existing challenges and opportunities for possible real applications were proclaimed.

Selective separation of protein and saccharides by ionic liquids aqueous two-phase systems

In the present work,it was found that aqueous solution of a hydrophilic ionic liquid (IL),1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([C4mim][N(CN)2]),could be separated into an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) by inorganic salts such as K2HPO4 and K3PO4.The top phase is IL-rich,while the bottom phase is phosphate-rich.It was shown that 82.7%-100% bovine serum albumin (BSA) could be enriched into the top phase and almost quantitative saccharides (arabinose,glucose,sucrose,raffinose or dextran) were preferentially extracted into the bottom phase in a single-step extraction by [C4mim][N(CN)2] + K2HPO4 ATPS.The extraction efficiency of BSA from the aqueous saccharide solutions was influenced by the molecular structure of saccharides.The conductivity,dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were combined to investigate the microstructure of the IL-rich top phase and the possible mechanism for the selective separation.It is suggested that the formation of the IL aggregate and the IL aggregate-BSA complex plays a significant role in the separation of BSA from aqueous saccharide solutions.This is the first example for the selective separation by ILs-based ATPSs.It is expected that these findings would have potential applications in bio-analysis,separation,and IL recycle.

A unique 3D microporous MOF constructed by cross-linking 1D coordination polymer chains for effectively selective separation of CO_(2)/CH4 and C_(2)H_(2)/CH_(4)

Selective separation of CO_(2)/CH_(4)and C2 H_(2)/CH_(4)are promising for their high-purity industrial demand and scientific research on account of the similar molecular radius and physical properties.In this work,a unique 3 D microporous MOF material[Cu(SiF6)(sdi)2]·solvents(1,sdi=1,1’-sulfonyldiimidazole)was successfully constructed by cross-linking 1 D coordination polymer chains.The dense functional active sites on the inner walls of the channel of la can provide strong binding affinities to CO_(2),C2 H_(2),and thus effectively improve the gas separation performance of CO_(2)/CH_(4)and C2 H_(2)/CH_(4).

Targeted synthesis of novel porous aromatic frameworks with selective separation of CO_2/CH_4and CO_2/N_2

Novel porous aromatic frameworks（PAF-53 and PAF-54） have been obtained by the polymerization of amino compound（p-phenylenediamine and melamine） and cyanuric chloride. They display a certain amount of CO2 adsorption capacity and highly selective separation of CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 as 18.1 and83 by Henry Law respectively. They may be applied as ideal adsorbents to separate and capture CO2.

A New Microporous Metal-Organic Framework for Highly Selective C2H2/CH4 and C2H2/CO2 Separation at Room Temperature

We have successfully designed and synthesized a new tetracarboxylic linker, which constructed its first three-dimensional microporous metal-organic framework （MOF）, [Cu2（DDPD）（H2O）2]·Gx （ZJU-13, H4DDPD= 5,5＇-（2,6-dihydroxynaphthalene-1,5-diyl）diisophthalic acid, ZJU=Zhejiang University, G=guest molecules） via solvothermal reaction. Due to open Cu^2＋ sites and optimized pore size, the activated ZJU-13a displays high separation selectivity for CzH2/CH4 of 74 and C2H2/CO2 of 12.5 at low pressure by using Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory （IAST） simulation at room temperature.

Two-dimensional cobalt metal-organic frameworks for efficient C_3H_6/CH_4 and C_3H_8/CH_4 hydrocarbon separation

A Co-based two-dimensional（2 D） microporous metal-organic frameworks, [Co2（TMTA）（DMF）2（H2O）2]·NO3-·DMF（UPC-32） has been synthesized based on 4,4’,4’’-（2,4,6-trimethylbenzene-1,3,5-triyl）tribenzoic acid（H3TMTA）. UPC-32 features a 2 D microporous framework exhibits high adsorption of H2（118.2 cm3/g, 1.05 wt%, at 77 K）, and adsorption heat（Qst） of CO2（34–46 k J/mol）. UPC-32 with narrow distance between layers（3.8 ？） exhibits high selectivity of C3H6/CH4（31.46） and C3H8/CH4（28.04） at298 K and 1 bar. It is the first 2 D Co-MOF that showed selective separation of C3 hydrocarbon from CH4.

Metal separations of interest to the Chinese metallurgical industry

IBC Advanced Technologies’ Molecular Recognition Technology(MRT) SuperLig products selectively and rapidly bind with target species enabling their selective removal from solutions.The MRT process can produce a high purity separation product of maximum added value at a competitive cost.SuperLig products have high selectivity for many target species which can include metal ions,anions,and neutral molecules.In operation,the SuperLig product is first placed in a packed column.A solution containing a mixture of the target species and other chemical species is then passed through the column.The target species is removed selectively by the SuperLig product,the column is washed to remove residual feed solution,and the target species is recovered by a minimal quantity of eluent.The result is a pure and concentrated species that can be kept for its value or disposed of safely.The process is environmentally and ecologically friendly with no organic solvents being used.This paper provides a review of some examples of applications of MRT to separations of interest to the Chinese metallurgical industry.Included are several applications of MRT,including Pd separations from Pt metal refinery streams and low-grade spent catalyst wastes,Rh recovery from spent auto catalyst and other feeds,Re removal from selected impurity ions,Cd removal from Co electrolyte,Bi removal from Cu electrolyte,In and Ge separations from difficult matrices,and removal of bivalent first transition series and other metal ions from acid mine drainage(Berkeley Pit,Montana).Finally,the potential application of MRT to separations involving the recovery of rare earth metals and Li from low-level waste solutions and end-of-life products is discussed.

Protein separation using a novel silica-based RPLC/IEC stationary phase modified with N-methylimidazolium ionic liquid

Ionic liquids（ILs） immobilized on silica as novel high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）stationary phases have attracted considerable attention. However, it has not been applied to protein separation. In this paper, N-methylimidazolium IL-modified silica-based stationary phase（Silpr Mim）was prepared and investigated as a novel multi-interaction stationary phase charged positively for protein separation. The results indicate that all of the basic proteins tested cannot be absorbed on this novel stationary phase, whereas all of the acidic proteins tested can be retained, and the baseline separation of eight kinds of acidic protein standards can be achieved when performed in reversed phase/ion-exchange chromatography（RPLC/IEC） mode. Compared with commonly used commercial octadecylated silica（ODS） column, the novel stationary phase can show selectivity and good resolution to acidic proteins, which has a promising application in the separation and analyses of acidic proteins from the complex samples in proteomics. In addition, the chromatographic behavior of proteins, the effect of the ligand structure and the retention mechanism on this stationary phase were also investigated.

Expert systems for HPLC in biochemistry—The knowledge base for selection of HPLC column system in the separation of amino acids, peptides and proteins

The strategy of expert system for high performance liquid chromatography was discussed, the attentions are mainly placed on the knowledge base for selection of column system, separation modes and detection modes in the analysis of amino acids, peptides and proteins.