Dr Keith Barnard leads the solvent extraction chemistry group.

Dr Keith Barnard: solvent extraction expert

Dr Keith Barnard is a Research Team Leader for the solvent extraction chemistry group based at CSIRO Process Science and Engineering.

• 10 March 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Keith Barnard's research is focused on understanding and minimising oxime degradation in the CSIRO-patented LIX®63/Versatic 10 synergistic solvent extraction system as well as improving the economics of the process.

He has also been investigating the metal coordination chemistry of the complexes formed in these systems.

Background

Dr Barnard joined CSIRO in 1996 as a Postdoctoral Fellow.

In 2005, Dr Barnard became the Research Team Leader for the solvent extraction (SX) chemistry group.

His research initially focused on aspects associated with the health of the organic reagent including:

• reagent stability studies
• detection and identification of organic reagents and impurities
• causes/effects of reagent degradation and crud formation in SX circuits.

This work has also included:

• investigating mechanisms of organic loss
• impurity transfer
• developing methods to better monitor entrainment analysis.

Dr Barnard has developed analytical techniques to monitor reagent losses (and impurity growth) used to determine kinetics of reagent degradation.

Academic qualifications

Dr Barnard has been awarded:

• Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) with Honours from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Doctor of Philosophy in Inorganic Chemistry, from the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Dr Barnard's doctoral thesis was titled Geometric Isomerism in Oxo-Molybdenym and Oxo-Tungsten Complexes.

Achievements

Dr Barnard's achievements include:

• an Australian Postgraduate Research Award (APRA) to study for his Doctorate
• winner of the Max O'Connor Prize for being the top Chemistry Honours student at La Trobe University in 1987.

Dr Barnard has published over 20 research papers and more than 70 technical reports.

Find out more about Precious and base metals hydrometallurgy.