This study was conducted to determine the optimum extraction conditions for the effective separation and removal of Cu2+, Fe2+, and Fe3+ using N-benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine (BPA) as an analytical reagent. An efficient liquid-liquid extraction method was developed for the separation and removal of Cu2+, Fe2+, and Fe3+ from environmental waste samples. In this method, BPA was used as a chelating agent and the effect of different parameters- including solvents, pH, stripping agents, extraction time, and the interference of other ions- on the quantitative removal of these metals was investigated. This study demonstrates that chloroform is the most effective solvent for BPA. The maximum extraction of the selected metallic species was found between pH 3 and 5. It was demonstrated that the maximum percentage recovery of the metals can be attained using 1 M HCl as a stripping agent. Optimized conditions of different parameters could be beneficial for industry and environmental laboratories.
Keywords: N-benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine; chelation; liquid–liquid extraction; metallic pollutants; optimization.