Abstract
The selectivity of chlorite and illite toward the ion pairs Pb2+/Zn2+, Pb2+/Cd2+ and Zn2+/Cd2+ in the initial total concentrations of 0.005 and 0.00025 molrd/l was studied. Mineral selectivity to these ions diminishes in the following sequence: Pb2+ > Zn2+ > Cd2+. Under the conditions of the experiments, chlorite shows greater selective power than illite. The separatory factors of these ion pairs are all > 1 and increase in the concentration span used with increasing dilution solutions and with a decreasing molar fraction of the preferred type of ions. The principal causes for the observed in selective power in concentrating the external solution are probably the presence of binding sites of different combining power on clay particles and different magnitudes of the first hydrolysis constants for heavy metal cations.