Purification of InCl 3 electrolyte by ion exchange

Abstract

Impurities in InCl₃ electrolyte increase during the course of continuous electrolytic refining of indium and affect the achievable purity of indium. In order to remove impurities, a method of purifying InCl₃ electrolyte by ion exchange was investigated and the theoretical possibility of removing impurities by ion exchange is described in the present paper. It is shown that InCl₃ electrolyte can be purified by basic anion exchange resin 717 (R≡N.Cl⁻). The optimum experimental conditions are as follows: indium 50–100 g L⁻¹, hydrochloric acid 0·1 mol L⁻¹ and space velocity 1 m³ m⁻³ h⁻¹. The purity in InCl₃ electrolyte can exceed 99·96% after purification by resin 717. Therefore, resin 717 is suggested as an excellent adsorption agent for purification of InCl₃ electrolyte.

Keywords

INCL3 ELECTROLYTE ION EXCHANGE PURIFICATION

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