The separation of germanium from lead, cadmium, and zinc by ion exchange

The object of this study was to investigate the ion exchange behavior of germanium in order to find a quantitative separation method applicable to the analysis of germanium in zinc ores. Germanium had been predicted and described as eka-silicon by Mendeleeff, and was discovered by Winkler in 1886. The importance of the metal has increased very much since World War II because of its use as a semiconductor in diodes and transistors. All commercial scale germanium is now produced as a by-product of base metal processing. Although the United States Bureau of Mines is conducting a program for the recovery of germanium from fly-ash and coal, germanium recovery from these sources does not appear commercially feasible at this time. Since all analytical methods for the determination of germanium require a preliminary separation, it was thought worthwhile to seek a simple but quantitative method of separating germanium from lead, cadmium, and zinc, which are the metals occurring in germanium bearing zinc ores --Introduction, page 1