Method for extracting rubidium and cesium in salt lake brine

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for extracting rubidium and cesium in salt lake brine. The method comprises the steps that t-BMBP and a diluent are mixed to obtain an organic phase, and then an alkaline solution is added to the organic phase to be subjected to saponification reaction, and a saponified organic phase and alkali liquor are obtained after layering; extraction is carried out on the salt lake brine by utilizing the saponified organic phase so as to obtain an organic extract phase and an aqueous raffinate phase; and stripping is carried out on the organic extract phase to obtain a stripping phase containing Cs(I) and Rb(I) and a blank organic phase. According to the method, extraction is carried out by using a mode that the organic phase is subjected to alkali wash and saponification, a strong alkaline substance is not required to be added to the salt lake brine to adjust the pH value, the consumption of the alkali liquor is very small, the alkali liquor can be recycled, and therefore the phenomenon that the environment is polluted due to the fact that a lot of waste alkali liquor is generated can be avoided, and meanwhile, the Cs(I) and Rb(I) in a salt lake brine system can be efficiently extracted; and the method is suitable for neutral or alkalescent salt lake brine systems, is suitable for industrial popularization and has a good application prospect.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the field of hydrometallurgy, in particular to a method for extracting rubidium and cesium in salt lake brine. Background technique [0002] Rubidium and cesium are extremely important rare and precious metal resources, which are widely used in aviation, medicine, energy, electronic equipment and chemical industry. Salt lake brines in Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan and other places in China contain rich rubidium and cesium resources, but the concentration is generally low, generally within 10mg / L, and the content of rubidium and cesium in some salt lake brines and lithium extraction mother liquors can reach 45-120mg / L and 2-100mg / L or even higher. However, other metal elements coexisting in brine, such as sodium and potassium, are very high in content, up to several grams or even tens of grams. Because they are both alkali metal ions, and the properties of potassium and rubidium are very similar (potassium is also a part of rubidium...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0006] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a method for extracting rubidium and cesium in salt lake brine, by first washing the saponified organic phase with lye, converting a part of phenol into a sodium salt form, and the organic phase is extracted in the next step The sodium ions in the solution can be exchanged with the alkali metal ions in the neutral aqueous phase system, so that the extraction can occur under neutral conditions, and there is no need to add strong alkaline substances to the brine of the salt lake to adjust the pH. Less alkaline substances solve the problem that when t-BAMBP is used as an extraction agent to extract rubidium and cesium resources in salt lake brine, a large amount of strong alkaline substances need to be added to the neutral water phase to produce a large amount of lye, pollute the environment, increase production and treatment costs, etc. question

Images