Carrier-mediated transport of rare earth elements through liquid membranes. Transport of Sc,Y, Ce,Eu, Gd,Tm, Yb through supported liquid membrane containing TOPO in n-dodecane

Transport of trivalent rare earth elements-REE (Sc, Y, Ce, Eu, Gd, Tm, Yb) from nitrate medium through SLM containing TOPO in n-dodecane, supported on a nucleoporous filter, into a strip solution with EDTA, has been studied. Permeability coefficients of metal transport decreased with increasing of their atomic number except for Ce and Tm. At higher concentration of TOPO in the membrane, metal transport was faster, but the differences among the transport rates of the investigated elements decreased. A good separation of Ce from its binary mixtures with other investigated REE was achieved using DTPA as masking agent, added the feed solution.