The Effect of LIX 63 Hydroxyoxime Degradation Products on Kinetics-Based Metal Extraction

The potential of the LIX® 63 hydroxyoxime/Versatic 10 combination to kinetically directly separate cobalt (1 g/L) from a nickel rich (20 g/L) synthetic leach solution while rejecting impurities has been highlighted previously. In the present work, the stability of the LIX 63 hydroxyoxime has been assessed under conditions relevant to a commercially prospective kinetics-based operation, and the results compared with those obtained in previously investigated equilibrium-based systems. Importantly, no adverse effect of the four main hydroxyoxime degradation products on metal extraction and stripping kinetics was found, even when these were added at high concentrations.