Separation and removal of Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Fe³⁺ from environmental waste samples by N-benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the optimum extraction conditions for the effective separation and removal of Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Fe³⁺ using N-benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine (BPA) as an analytical reagent. An efficient liquid–liquid extraction method was developed for the separation and removal of Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Fe³⁺ from environmental waste samples. In this method, BPA was used as a chelating agent and the effect of different parameters– including solvents, pH, stripping agents, extraction time, and the interference of other ions– on the quantitative removal of these metals was investigated. This study demonstrates that chloroform is the most effective solvent for BPA. The maximum extraction of the selected metallic species was found between pH 3 and 5. It was demonstrated that the maximum percentage recovery of the metals can be attained using 1 M HCl as a stripping agent. Optimized conditions of different parameters could be beneficial for industry and environmental laboratories.

Keywords:

• chelation
• liquid–liquid extraction
• metallic pollutants
• N-benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine
• optimization

Acknowledgements

Mr Dhananjay Sarode is grateful to CIMO, Finland for the award of the Finnish Government Scholarship 2011–12 and the Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Mikkeli, Finland for providing all the laboratory facilities needed to complete the work.