Experimental investigation on the efficiency of zinc(II) recovery from waste streams by TBP liquid-liquid extraction

In many industrial processes the presence of zinc in the wastewater may represent an obstacle to its high efficient regeneration. This is the case of the treatment of spent pickling solutions aiming the recovery of hydrochloric acid via pyrohydrolysis techniques. Hydrochloric spent pickling solutions from steel processing contain relevant amount of metals such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) that may significantly affect recovery of hydrochloric acid (HCl) through pyrohydrolysis. In fact, although Fe may be recovered as ferric oxide (Fe2O3) and does not have a substantial effect on pyrohydrolysis process, zinc chloride (ZnCl2) evaporating can occlude nozzles and stick to the pyrohydrolysis react…