Germanium Co-Precipitation with Ferric Hydroxide: A Lab-Scale Study

Abstract

Lab-scale germanium co-precipitation with ferric hydroxide in dilute sulfuric acid media was studied. The experiments of co-precipitation of germanium and ferric hydroxide were performed by neutralization of the germanium-ferric sulfate solution via adding calcium hydroxide powder. The variables affecting the germanium precipitation yield were investigated. The experimental results show that high initial germanium concentration, high ferric/germanium molar ratio, high final solution pH, low ion strength and slow temperature will contribute to high germanium precipitation yield.