Kinetic and Dynamic Study of Liquid–Liquid Extraction of Copper in a HFMC: Experimentation, Modeling, and Simulation M. Younas, S. Druon-Bocquet, and J. Sanchez Institut Europe ´en des Membranes, UMR 5635, CNRS, ENSCM, UMII, Universite ´ de Montpellier II, CC 047, 2 Place Euge `ne Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier cedex 5, France DOI 10.1002/aic.12076 Published online October 28, 2009 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). In this work, we present the dispersion-free liquid–liquid extraction of copper from aqueous streams in a hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC). Copper has been transferred from aqueous solutions to heptane using LIX 84-I (2-hydroxy-5-nonylacete- phenone oxime) as extracting agent. In a first step, batch experiments have been per- formed to identify the extraction kinetics and to measure the partition coefficient of copper aqueous-organic phase system. Then, the continuous recycled-base extraction process has been performed in a HFMC Liqui-Cel V R module. The module has been modeled from resistance in series concept to gain the exit concentrations, which are used to develop a dynamic model to calculate the exit concentration of copper from the output of storage tanks. The model has been validated with experimental data at various operating conditions. The integrated process model algorithm was scripted in MATLAB V R 7.4 R (a). Simulations have been made for a range of different operating parameters to determine the optimum criterion conditions. V V C 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 56: 1469–1480, 2010 Keywords: copper extraction, HFMC, dynamic modeling, simulation Introduction Copper, a metal that people have used since early ances- tors found shiny pieces of it among riverbed stones, became the basis of metallurgy because of its early extraction. The use of copper in farming and construction tools or electrical and electronic products is increasing its demand to develop new techniques for extraction. 1 Heavy metal-bearing water pollution was being a worldwide concern for the last few decades. Waste streams from metal plating industries, elec- trorefining industries, mining wastes, fertilizer industry, paints and pigments, and municipal or storm water runoff are threats to aqueous environment. 2–4 Liquid–liquid extrac- tion of copper entails contacting aqueous solutions with liq- uid organic extractants causing extraction of Cu 2þ . Organic extractants (hydroxyoximes) such as ketoximes (e.g., LIX 84 I) are found to be active in metal extraction. 5 Environmental concerns, the increasing cost and scarcity of water, and decreasing price of membranes and their com- mercialization switch the tedious or time-consuming tradi- tional solvent extraction technique over the membrane separations. Membrane separation has reduced the copper extraction from three stages, in early days, to a single stage. Furthermore, environmental impact should be less impor- tant. 6–8 Liquid membranes such as emulsion liquid membranes (ELMs) and supported liquid membranes (SLMs) are in place for active extraction of heavy metals including copper. Many researchers have been found to use ELM and SLM for metal extraction with various organic extractants including LIX reagent. 9–12 Although these techniques, as a novel method of extraction, are considered for high membrane flux, destabilization of the membrane, complexity of the pro- cess, organic loss, and concerns over the osmotic transport Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to M. Younas at younas@iemm.univ-montp2.fr. or engr_unas@yahoo.com. V V C 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE Journal 1469 June 2010 Vol. 56, No. 6 SEPARATIONS