Extractive separation of Th(IV), U(VI), Ti(IV), La(III) and Fe(III) from Zarigan ore

In this study, the effects of various extraction parameters such as extractant types (Cyanex302, Cyanex272, TBP), acid type (nitric, sulfuric, hydrochloric) and their concentrations were studied on the thorium separation efficiency from uranium(VI), titanium(IV), lanthanum(III), iron(III) using Taguchi^??s method. Results showed that, all these variables had significant effects on the selective thorium separation. The optimum separations of thorium from uranium, titanium and iron were achieved by Cyanex302. The aqueous solutions of 0.01 and 1 M nitric acid were found as the best aqueous conditions for separating of thorium from titanium (or iron) and uranium, respectively. The combination of 0.01 M nitric acid and Cyanex272 were found that to be the optimum conditions for the selective separation of thorium from lanthanum. The results also showed that TBP could selectively extract all studied elements into organic phase leaving thorium behind in the aqueous phase. Detailed experiments showed that 0.5 M HNO₃ is the optimum acid concentration for separating of thorium from other elements with acidic extractants such as Cyanex272 and Cyanex302. The two-stage process containing TBP-Cyanex302 was proposed for separation thorium and uranium from Zarigan ore leachate.     

Extraction of neodymium(III) using binary mixture of Cyanex 272 and Cyanex 921/Cyanex 923 in kerosene

The extraction of Nd(III) using binary mixtures of Cyanex 272 (HA), Cyanex 921/Cyanex 923 (B) in kerosene from nitric acid medium has been investigated. The effect of aqueous phase acidity, extractant concentration, nitrate ion concentration and diluents on the extraction of Nd(III) has been studied. On the basis of slope analysis results, extracted species are proposed as Nd(NO₃)A₂·3HA and Nd(NO₃)₂·A·3HA·B using Cyanex 272 and its mixture with Cyanex 921/Cyanex 923, respectively. With the mixture of 0.1 M Cyanex 272 and 0.1 M Cyanex 923 in kerosene, the extraction of 0.001 M Nd(III) from 0.001 M HNO₃ solution was found to be 83.3 % whereas it was 73.3 % when 0.1 M Cyanex 921 used as synergist under same experimental conditions. The stripping data of Nd(III) from the loaded organic phase containing 0.1 M Cyanex 272 and 0.1 M Cyanex 921/Cyanex 923 with different acids indicated sulphuric acid to be the best stripping agent.     

Development of reliable analytical method for extraction and separation of thorium(IV) by Cyanex 272 in kerosene

A simple and selective spectrophotometric method has been developed for the extraction and separation of thorium(IV) from sodium salicylate media using Cyanex 272 in kerosene. Thorium(IV) was quantitatively extracted by 5 × 10⁻⁴ M Cyanex 272 in kerosene from 1 × 10⁻⁵M sodium salicylate medium. The extracted thorium(IV) was stripped out quantitatively from the organic phase with 4.0 M hydrochloric acid and determined spectrophotometrically with arsenazo(III) at 620 nm. The effect of concentrations of sodium salicylate, extractant, diluents, metal ion and strippants has been studied. Separation of thorium(IV) from other elements was achieved from binary as well as multicomponent mixtures such as uranium(VI), strontium(II), rubidium(I), cesium(I), potassium(I), Sodium(I), lithium(I), lead(II), barium(II), beryllium(II) etc. Using this method separation and determination of thorium(IV) in geological and real samples has been carried out. The method is simple, rapid and selective with good reproducibility (approximately ±2%).     

Synergistic extraction of uranium(VI) and thorium(IV) with mixtures of Cyanex272 and other organophosphorus ligands

The extraction of thorium(IV) and uranium(VI) from nitric acid solutions has been studied using mixtures of bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)phosphinic acid (Cyanex272 or HA), and synergistic extractants (S) such as tri-butylphosphate (TBP), tri-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) or bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)thiophosphinic acid (Cyanex301). The results showed that these metallic ions are extracted into kerosene as Th(OH)₂(NO₃)A·HA and UO₂(NO₃)A·HA with Cyanex272 alone. In the presence of neutral organophosphorus ligands TBP and TOPO, they are found to be extracted as Th(OH)₂(NO₃)A·HA·S and UO₂(NO₃)A·HA·S. On the other hand, Th(IV), U(VI) are extracted as Th(OH)₂(NO₃)A·HA·2S and UO₂(NO₃)A·HA·S in the presence of Cyanex301. The addition of neutral extractants such as TOPO and TBP to the extraction system enhanced the extraction efficiency of both elements while Cyanex301 as an acidic extractant has improved the selectivity between uranium and thorium. The effect of TOPO on the extraction was higher than other extractants. The equilibrium constants of above species have been estimated by non-linear regression method. The extraction amounts were determined and the results were compared with those of TBP. Also, it was found that the binding to the neutral ligands by the thorium–Cyanex272 complexes follows the neutral ligand basicity sequence.     

Recovery of uranium and thorium from zirconium oxychloride by solvent extraction

A solvent extraction process is proposed to recover uranium and thorium from the crystal waste solutions of zirconium oxychloride. The extraction of iron from hydrochloride medium with P350, the extraction of uranium from hydrochloride with N235, and the extraction of thorium from the mixture solutions of nitric acid and the hydrochloric acid with P350 was investigated. The optimum extraction conditions were evaluated with synthetic solutions by studying the parameters of extractant concentration and acidity. The optimum separation conditions for Fe (III) are recognized as 30% P350 and 4.5 to 6.0 M HCl. The optimum extraction conditions for U (VI) are recognized as 25% N235 and 4.5 to 6.0 M HCl. And the optimum extraction conditions for Th (VI) are recognized as 30% P350 and 2.5 to 3.5 M HNO₃ in the mixture solutions. The recovery of uranium and thorium from the crystal waste solutions of zirconium oxychloride was investigated also. The results indicate that the recoveries of uranium and thorium are 92 and 86%, respectively.     

Extraction of thorium from aqueous nitric acid solution by bis-2-(butoxyethyl ether) (DBC)

The solvent extraction of thorium(IV) (4.3·10^–4M) from nitric acid solution by bis-2-(butoxyethyl ether) (butex or DBC) has been studied. It has been investigated as a function of nitric acid, extractant and metal ion concentration. The effect of equilibration time, diverse ions and salting-out agent on the extraction has also been examined. Among anions, fluoride, phosphate, oxalate and perchlorate have reduced the extraction. Cations such as Na(I), K(I), Ca(II), Zn(II), Al(III), Ti(IV), Zr(IV) except Sr(II) and Pb(II) do not interfere in the extraction. The extraction is enhanced upto 97% in three stages at 6M HNO₃ having 2.94M NaNO₃ as salting-out agent. The extraction is found to be independent of thorium concentration in the range studied (4.3·10^–4–4.3·10^–2M). The temperature (18–45°C) has an adverse effect on the extraction. A 1% solution of ammonium bifluoride is found to be a good stripping solution and recovery of thorium is >98%.     

Extraction of Polonium from Aqueous Lactic Acid Solutions Using Dioctyl Sulphide, Cyanex 272, Cyanex 301 or Cyanex 302 in Toluene

The extraction of polonium from lactic acid (HLac) solutions has been studied with di-n-octyl sulphide (DOS), Cyanex 272, Cyanex 301 and Cyanex 302 extractants dissolved in toluene. For the extraction with DOS, the extracted species is most likely PoO(Lac)₂·3DOS. The results for Cyanex 272 also indicate extraction via a solvation mechanism rather than cation exchange. The extracted species is probably PoO(Lac)₂·2HA. The major species extracted with Cyanex 301 or Cyanex 302 do not contain any lactate molecules. The extracted species is most likely PoOA₂ at low extractant concentrations, while at higher concentrations an adduct complex of the type PoOA₂·2HA is formed. The extraction of polonium increases in the order Cyanex 272 < Cyanex 302 < DOS < Cyanex 301, which is the same order as the increase of the number of sulphur atoms in the reagents.     

Studies on the extraction and determination of metal salts with isobutyl methyl ketone-XIII Extraction of thorium and uranium

The work deals with the extraction of thorium or uranium from hydrochloric, perchloric, sulphuric or nitric acid solutions of various concentrations, or from mixed acid solutions, by means of isobutyl methyl ketone. When the extraction is made from 5-8M hydrochloric acid that is 10M in lithium chloride or from 7-8M hydrochloric acid that is 1M in magnesium chloride, uranium is extracted quantitatively (>99%), whereas thorium is hardly extracted at all.     

Separation of thorium as ascorbato complex by extraction with Aliquat 336S

Thorium was quantitatively extracted with 0.1M Aliquat 336S at pH 4.5 from 0.01M ascorbic acid. It was then stripped with 2M hydrochloric acid. Thorium arsenazo III complex was determined spectrophotometrically at 655 nm. It was separated from binary and tertiary mixtures by exploiting the difference in distribution ratios of various elements from ascorbic acid media. Some separations were accomplished by selective stripping of thorium from nitric and hydrochloric acid. The method was extended for the analysis of thorium in monazite and gas mantles.     

Solvent extraction separation of iron(III) and aluminium(III) from other elements with Cyanex 302

A rapid method was developed for the solvent extraction separation of iron(III) and aluminium(III) from other elements with Cyanex 302 in chloroform as the diluent. Iron(III) was quantitatively extracted at pH 2.0-2.5 with 5 x 10(-3) M Cyanex 302 in chloroform whereas the extraction of aluminium(III) was quantitative in the pH range 3.0-4.0 with 10 x 10(-3) M Cyanex 302 in chloroform. Iron(III) was stripped from the organic phase with 1.0 M and aluminium(III) with 2.0 M hydrochloric acid. Both metals were separated from multicomponent mixtures. The method was applied to the separation of iron and aluminium from real samples.     

Separation of molybdenum(VI) from other elements by solvent extraction with dibenzo-18-crown-6 from hydrochloric acid medium

DB-18-C6 was used for the extractive separation analysis of molybdenum(VI) from a range of other elements. Molybdenum(VI) was quantitatively extracted from 8M hydrochloric acid with 0.01M DB-18-C6 in nitrobenzene. It was stripped from the organic phase with 2M nitric acid and determined spectrophotometrically with Tiron at 390 nm. Molybdenum was separated from a large number of elements in binary mixtures, the tolerance limit for most elements being very high. Selective extraction of molybdenum permits its separation from barium, thorium, cesium, rubidium, strontium, lanthanum, chromium(III) and cerium(III). The method was extended for the analysis of molybdenum in a soil sample.     

Organophosphinic,phosphonic acids and their binary mixtures as extractants for molybdenum(VI) and uranium(VI) from aqueous HCl media

Extraction studies of uranium(VI) and molybdenum(VI) with organophosphoric, phosphinic acid and its thiosubstituted derivatives have been carried out from 0.1–1.0M HCl solutions. The extracted species are proposed to be UO₂R₂ and MoO₂ CIR on the basis of slope analysis for uranium(VI) and molybdenum(VI), respectively. The extraction efficiencies of PC-88A, Cyanex 272, Cyanex 301 and Cyanex 302 in the extraction of molybdenum(VI) and uranium(VI) are compared. Synergistic effects have been studied with binary mixtures of extractants. Separation of molybdenum(VI) from uranium(VI) is feasible by Cyanex 301 from 1M HCl, the separation factor log being 2.3.     

Liquid-liquid extraction of tetravalent zirconium from acidic chloride solutions using Cyanex 272.

The liquid-liquid extraction of zirconium(IV) from acidic chloride solutions was carried out with Cyanex 272 as an extractant diluted in kerosene. An increase of the acid concentration decreased the percentage extraction of metal, which indicates that the extraction follows ion exchange-type mechanism: MO2+(aq) + 2(HA)2(org) <--> MO (HA2)2(org) + 2H+(aq), where, M = Zr(IV); HA = Cyanex 272. The extraction of Zr(IV) increases with an increase of the extractant concentration. In a plot of log D vs. log[extractant], M is linear with a slope of approximately 2, indicating the association of two moles of extractant with the extracted metal species. On the other hand, the extraction decreases with an increase of the H+ ion concentration. A plot of log D vs. log[H+] gave a straight line with a negative slope of 1.7, indicating the exchange of two moles of hydrogen ions for every mole of Zr(IV). The effect of the Cl- ion concentration at a constant concentration of [H+] did not show any change in the D values. The addition of sodium salts enhanced the percentage extraction of metal, and followed the order of NaSCN > NaNO3 > Na2SO4 > NaCl. The stripping of metal from the loaded organic (L.O) with different acids indicated sulfuric acid to be the best stripping agent. An increase of the temperature during the extraction and stripping stages increases the metal transfer, showing that the process is exothermic. The synergism, regeneration and recycling capacity of Cyanex 272; the extraction behavior of associated elements, such as Hf(IV), Ti(IV), Al(III), Fe(III); and IR spectra of the extracted Zr-Cyanex 272 complex were studied.     

Spectrophotometric determination of zirconium, uranium, thorium and rare earths with arsenazo III after extractions with thenoyltrifluoroacetone and tri-n-octylamine

A method is described for the spectrophotometric determination of microgram amounts of zirconium, uranium(VI), thorium and rare earths with Arsenazo III after systematic separation by extraction. First zirconium is extracted into a xylene solution of thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) from about 4M hydrochloric acid. Uranium(VI) is then extracted into a xylene solution of tri-n-octy lamine from about 4M hydrochloric acid. Thorium is next extracted into TTA solution at pH about 1.5, and finally rare earths are extracted into TTA solution at pH about 4.7. Each metal is back-extracted from the organic phase before determination.     

Carrier facilitated transport of thorium from HCl medium using Cyanex 923 in n-dodecane containing supported liquid membrane

Present studies deal with supported liquid membrane (SLM) technique for the separation of thorium from hydrochloric acid (HCl) medium using Cyanex 923 as a carrier. Effects of feed acidity, strippant, and membrane pore size and membrane thickness on the transport of thorium have been studied in detail. The optimized parameters were applied for separation of thorium from a radioanalytical waste. Stability of the membrane and membrane support was investigated. Transport of thorium increased from 78.3 to about 93.7 % with increase in acidity from 0.5 to 2 M using 0.3 M Cyanex 923 in n-dodecane as carrier and 2 M ammonium carbonate as stripping phase. The transport of thorium decreased above 2 M HCl. An attempt was made to model the physicochemical transport of thorium in SLM and understand the mechanism of thorium transport.     

Liquid-liquid extraction of niobium(V) in the presence of other metals with high molecular mass amines and ascorbic acid

A novel method is proposed for the solvent extraction of niobium(V). A 0.1M solution of Aliquat 336S in xylene quantitatively extracts microgram quantities of niobium(V) from 0.01M ascorbic acid at pH 3.5-6.5. Niobium from the organic phase is stripped with 0.5M nitric acid and determined spectrophotometrically in the aqueous phase as its complex with TAR. The method permits separation of niobium not only from tantalum(V) but also from vanadium(IV), titanium(IV), zirconium(IV), thorium(IV), chromium(III), molybdenum(VI), uranium(VI), iron(III), etc. Niobium from stainless steel was determined with a precision of 0.42%.     

Extraction of copper(II) with the APCD/DIBK system from concentrated hydrochloric and nitric acid media: estimation of true limit of acidity for the extraction

The extraction of copper(II) from strongly acidic solution (0.01-8M hydrochloric and 0.01-5M nitric acid) with ammonium 1-pyrrolidinecarbodithioate in di-isobutyl ketone has been studied. Compared with the hydrochloric acid system, a considerably larger amount of the reagent is needed for complete extraction of copper chelate from nitric acid solution as the extract is more unstable in the nitric acid system. The decomposition of copper chelates extracted from nitric acid is based on the oxidation of the reagent and the chelate; the spectral change of the extract from nitric acid suggests that the copper(II) chelate is initially oxidized to copper(II) and then decomposes. The upper limit of the acidity of both acids from which the copper chelate can be quantitatively extracted strongly depends on the reagent concentration; the limit with 8 x 10(-2)M APCD (500-fold reagent: metal molar ratio) was taken as 8 and 4M for hydrochloric and nitric acid, respectively.     

Application of ion-exchange separations to determination of trace elements in natural waters-IX: simultaneous isolation and determination of uranium and thorium

A method is described for the determination of uranium and thorium in samples of natural waters. After acidification with citric acid the water sample is filtered and sodium citrate and ascorbic acid are added. The resulting solution of pH 3 is passed through a 4-g column of Dowex 1 x 8 (citrate form) on which both uranium and thorium are adsorbed as anionic citrate complexes. Thorium is eluted with 8M hydrochloric acid and separated from co-eluted substances by anion-exchange in 8M nitric acid medium on a separate 2-g column of the same resin in the nitrate form. After complete removal of iron by washing with a mixture consisting of IBMK, acetone and 1M hydrochloric acid (1:8:1 v v ) and treatment of the resin with 6M hydrochloric acid, the uranium is eluted from the 4-g column with 1M hydrochloric acid. In the eluate thorium is determined spectrophotometrically (arsenazo III method) while fluorimetry is employed for the assay of uranium. The procedure was used for the determination of uranium and thorium in numerous water samples collected in Austria, including samples of mineral-waters. The results indicate that a simple relationship exists between the uranium and thorium contents of waters which makes it possible to calculate the approximate thorium content of a sample on the basis of its uranium concentration and vice versa.     

Actinide and lanthanide extraction from nitric acid solutions by flotation

Flotation of thorium, plutonium (IV), uranium(VI) and gadolinium from aqueous nitric acid solutions (HNO₃ concentration from 0.01 to 5.0M) was investigated using lauryl phosphoric acid (LPA) as a SAS-collector. It is established that the extent of removal of the metal ions increases with the amount of LPA introduced, regardless of the solution acidity. At a fixed mole LPA to metal ratio the extent of uranium(VI) and gadolinium removal is reduced with increasing acidity, while in case of plutonium(IV) and thorium this parameter remains constant. It is shown that in principle 100% extraction of plutonium(IV) and thorium by flotation is possible regardless of the acidity of aqueous solutions. Ca(NO₃)₂ added to the system in the amount of 0.5M does not significantly affect the flotation extraction of thorium.     

Extraction of Am(III) from different acid media by di-2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid containing phosphorous pentoxide

The extraction of Am(III) from nitric, hydrochloric, oxalic, phosphoric and hydrofluoric acids was studied using 0.4F di-2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid (HDEHP) containing 0.1M phosphorous pentoxide (P₂O₅) in dodecane/xylene. The extraction with pure 0.4F HDEHP was found to be negligible from all the media studied. However, the presence of a small amount of P₂O₅ in it increased the extraction substantially. The distribution ratios of Am(III) obtained for HDEHP - P₂O₅ mixture 3M nitric acid containing different concentrations of oxalic acid/phosphoric acid/hydrofluoric acid are in the order of 200-250. The same for 3M hydrochloric acid is very high (800). These distribution ratios are sufficiently high for the quantitative extraction of Am(III) from all the acid media studied. Different reagents such as ammonium oxalate, sodium oxalate, oxalic acid, hydrofluoric acid, sodium carbonate and potassium sulphate were explored for the back extraction of Am(III) from 0.4F HDEHP + 0.1M P₂O₅ in dodecane/xylene. Of these, 0.35M ammonium oxalate and 1M sodium carbonate were found to be most suitable. The back extraction of Am(III) was also attempted with water and 1M H₂SO₄, HNO₃, HClO₄ and HCl solutions after allowing the extracted organics to degrade on its own. It was found that more than 90% of Am could be back extracted with these acids. Using this method more than 90% of Am(III) was recovered from nitric acid solutions containing calcium and fluoride ions.