Electrostatic field effects on mass exchange of oxalic acid and copper Di-2-ethylhexyl phosphate

A unit was designed for investigating the effects of low electrostatic fields on exchange reactions in extraction systems. The dynamics of oxalic acid transfer across the interface during the reextraction of copper ions under the action of copper oxalate deposition was studied. The peculiarities of reextraction dynamics were explained by the formation and migration of discontinuities in the copper alkyl phosphate film along the interphase surface under the action of an electrostatic field. The dynamics of the process is characterized by the appearance of specific exchange rate maxima and by a drastic decrease in the rate in the presence of an electric field.