Extraction Behavior of Arsenic, Selenium, and Antimony Using Cyclopentyl Methyl Ether from Acidic Chloride Media

Solvent extraction is one of the efficient separation techniques for the removal of toxic chemical species from aqueous media, as well as their enrichment for microanalysis. In this study, extraction of the toxic elements, arsenic, selenium, and antimony from acidic chloride media using the oxygen-containing compounds cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), dibutyl carbitol (DBC), and methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) was compared. Extraction of As(III) increases with increasing hydrochloric acid concentration and the extractability using CPME, DBC, and MIBK was similar. On the other hand, As(V) was not extracted at all using these extractants. Sb(V) and Se(VI) were extracted at high hydrochloric acid concentration. The order of extractability for Se(IV) in acidic chloride media was MIBK > DBC > CPME. The extraction of As(III) using CPME was examined under various conditions. As As(III) was extracted only at high hydrochloric acid concentration, arsenic trichloride (AsCl3) was suggested as the extracting species. CPME was not saturated with As(III) under the extraction conditions used in this study. As(III) can be enriched by the combination of extraction using CPME followed by back extraction using a small volume of distilled water.