Selective extraction film for mining application

1. A polymer membrane, comprising

i) about 5.0 to about 33.0 wt.-% of a base polymer (B),

ii) optionally at least about 18 wt.-% of a plasticizer (P),

iii) at least about 22 wt.-% of an extractant (E), and

iv) at least about 26 wt.-% of a modifier (M) comprising an aromatic or aliphatic ester of phosphoric acid,

each based on the overall weight of the polymer membrane,

comprising the base polymer (B) and the extractant (E) in a weight ratio w(B)/w(E) in the range of 0.1 to 0.7, wherein w(B) is the overall amount of the base polymer (B) in wt.-% and w(E) is the overall amount of the extractant (E) in wt.-%, based on the overall weight of the polymer membrane, respectively.

2. The polymer membrane according to claim 1 , wherein the base polymer (B) comprises at least one polymer selected from the group consisting of cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate, polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, polymethylacrylate, polymethylmethacrylate, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, polysulfone and polyethersulfone.

3. The polymer membrane according to claim 2 , wherein the base polymer (B) comprises polyvinylchloride (PVC).

4. The polymer membrane according to claim 1 , wherein the extractant (E) comprises a tertiary amine or a quaternary ammonium compound.

5. The polymer membrane according to claim 1 , wherein the base polymer (B) comprises polyvinylchloride (PVC), and wherein the extractant (E) comprises a tertiary amine or a quaternary ammonium compound.

6. The polymer membrane according to claim 1 , comprising the plasticizer (P), wherein the polymer membrane comprises the extractant (E) and the plasticizer (P) in a weight ratio w(E)/w(P) below 1.6, wherein w(E) is the overall amount of the extractant (E) in wt.-% and w(P) is the overall amount of the plasticizer (P) in wt.-%, based on the overall weight of the polymer membrane, respectively.

7. The polymer membrane according to claim 1 , comprising the plasticizer (P), wherein the plasticizer (P) comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of 2-nitro-phenyl octyl ether (2-NPOE), 2-nitro-phenyl pentyl ether (2-NPPE), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), and 1,2-cyclohexanedicarbonacid-diisononylester.

8. The polymer membrane according to claim 1 , wherein the extractant (E) comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of trioctylmethylammonium chloride (Aliquot 336®), tetra-n-butylammonium bromide, tetramethylammonium chloride, dimethyldioctadecylammonium chloride, N,N-dioctyl-1-octanamine (Alamine 336®), and Tri-n-octylamine (Alamine 308®).

9. The polymer membrane according to claim 1 , Wherein the modifier (M) comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of triphenylphosphate, tri-n-butylphosphate, tri-sec-butylphosphate, tri-tert-butylphosphate, triethylphosphate, trimethylphosphate, tri-n-propylphosphate, triisopropylphosphate and tri-n-hexylphosphate.

10. A method for separating cobalt from other metals, comprising:

a) providing a container comprising a first chamber and a second chamber separated by a polymer membrane according to claim 1 ,

b) feeding a composition comprising cobalt and/or at least one salt thereof and at least one further metal other than cobalt and/or at least one salt of a further metal other than cobalt into the first chamber,

c) adding thiocyanic acid and/or a salt thereof to the composition of b) in the first chamber,

d) optionally adding a pH-buffer to the composition obtained in c) the first chamber, and

e) feeding a stripping solution (S) into the second chamber.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the stripping solution (S) comprises ammonia (NH 3 ) and triethanolamine (TEA) in a molar ratio in the range of about 2:1 to about 1:2.

12. The method according to claim 10 , wherein ammonium thiocyanate (NH 4 SCN) is applied in c).

13. The method according to claim 10 , wherein

i) the pH-buffer comprises acetic acid and ammonium acetate and/or

ii) the pH value of the composition obtained in d) is in the range of 2 to 6.

14. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the cobalt salt comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of cobalt (II) chloride (CoCl 2 ), cobalt (II) bromide (CoBr 2 ), cobalt (II) iodide (CoI 2 ), cobalt (II) fluoride (CoF 2 ), cobalt (II) sulfate (CoSO 4 ), cobalt (II) sulfite (CoSO 3 ), and cobalt (II) nitrate (Co(NO 3 ) 2 ).

15. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the at least one salt of a further metal other than cobalt comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of nickel (II) chloride (NiCl 2 ), nickel (II) bromide (NiBr 2 ), nickel (II) iodide (NiI 2 ), nickel (II) fluoride (NiF 2 ), nickel (II) sulfate (NiSO 4 ), nickel (II) sulfite (NiSO 3 ), and nickel (II) nitrate (Ni(NO 3 ) 2 ).