Separation Iron(III)-Manganese(II) via Supported Liquid Membrane Technology in the Treatment of Spent Alkaline Batteries

In this paper, the transport of iron(III) from iron(III)-manganese(II)-hydrochloric acid mixed solutions, coming from the treatment of spent alkaline batteries through a flat-sheet supported liquid membrane, is investigated (the carrier phase being of Cyanex 923 (commercially available phosphine oxide extractant) dissolved in Solvesso 100 (commercially available diluent)). Iron(III) transport is studied as a function of hydrodynamic conditions, the concentration of manganese and HCl in the feed phase, and the carrier concentration in the membrane phase. A transport model is derived that describes the transport mechanism, consisting of diffusion through a feed aqueous diffusion layer, a fast interfacial chemical reaction, and diffusion of the iron(III) species-Cyanex 923 complex across the membrane phase. The membrane diffusional resistance (Delta(m)) and feed diffusional resistance (Delta(f)) are calculated from the model, and their values are 145 s/cm and 361 s/cm, respectively. It is apparent that the transport of iron(III) is mainly controlled by diffusion through the aqueous feed boundary layer, this being the thickness of this layer calculated as 2.9 x 10(-3) cm. Since manganese(II) is not transported through the membrane phase, the present system allows the purification of these manganese-bearing solutions.