Separation of Co from Ni and Li from chloride media using polymer inclusion membrane system with thiosalicylate based ionic liquid

The selective removal of cobalt(II) from aqueous chloride solutions containing nickel(II) and lithium(I) was studied. The facilitated transport of metal ions through polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) with trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium thiosalicylate [PR4][TS] under various conditions was analyzed. In order to optimize the separation process, several factors such as the ion carrier concentration in the membrane as well as of the effect of the concentration of the acids in the source/receiving phases were investigated. The results show that PIM containing 25% CTA as the polymer support, 40% NPOE as the plasticizer and 35% [PR4][TS] allow the selective recovery of more than 90% of cobalt(II) from 6 mol/dm3 hydrochloric acid into 0.5 mol/dm3 sulfuric acid.