Studies on the mechanism of transport of lanthanide ions through supported liquid membranes containing di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as a carrier

Praseodymium and holmium have been chosen as representative elements of light and heavy lanthanides, respectively, to characterize the extraction reactions of these elements that are responsible for their separation through supported liquid membranes (SLM) from nitrate media by using di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) in kerosene as extractant. In the conditions studied, it has been demonstrated, the formation of two species that can be described as Ln(NO₃)A₂(HA)₃ and LnA₃(HA)₂, where Ln represents the lanthanide cation and HA the acidic extractant D2EHPA. These results have been obtained by using both graphic and numeric treatments of solvent extraction data. The first one was based on the slope analysis, and the second one, on the use of LETAGROP-DISTR program. The formation constants and relative predominance of each species were calculated. A mechanism for the formation of given species was proposed.     

Kinetic studies on the extraction of uranium(VI) from phosphoric acid medium by bulk liquid membrane containing di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid

To go through the first stage of industrial solvent extraction process in order to recover uranium from phosphate rocks by liquid membrane techniques, as a simple model, the kinetics of facilitated transport of uranium(VI) from a dilute phosphoric acid medium into more concentrated phosphoric acid media as a receiving phase through a bulk liquid membrane containing di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid as a carrier was studied. The influence of phosphoric acid concentration in the source and receiving phases, carrier concentration, type of solvent, stirring speed and temperature were investigated. The kinetic parameters (k _e, k _s, t _max, J _max) were calculated for the interface reactions assuming two consecutive, irreversible first-order reactions. The activation energy values were calculated as 29.40 and 19.51 kJ mol^?1 for extraction and stripping, respectively. The values of calculated activation energy indicated that both the extraction and stripping processes were controlled by mixed regime (both kinetic and diffusion). In addition, the influence of adding trioctyl-phosphine oxide into the membrane phase as a synergic agent on the transport kinetics was determined.     

Recovery and pre-concentration of americium (III) from dilute acid solutions using an emulsion liquid membrane containing di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as extractant

Radiochemical results of U isotopes (²³⁴U, ²³⁵U and ²³⁸U) and their activity ratios are reported for well waters as local sources of drinking waters collected from the ten settlements around the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS), Kazakhstan. The results show that ²³⁸U varies widely from 3.6 to 356 mBq/L (0.3–28.7 μg/L), with a factor of about 100. The ²³⁸U concentrations in some water samples from Dolon, Tailan, Sarzhal and Karaul settlements are comparable to or higher than the World Health Organization’s restrictive proposed guideline of 15 μg (U)/L. The ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratios in the measured water samples are higher than 1, and vary between 1.1 and 7.9, being mostly from 1.5 to 3. The measured ²³⁵U/²³⁸U activity ratios are around 0.046, indicating that U in these well waters is of natural origin. It is probable that the elevated concentration of ²³⁸U found in some settlements around the SNTS is not due to the close-in fallout from nuclear explosions at the SNTS, but rather to the intensive weathering of rocks including U there. The calculated effective doses to adults resulting from consumption of the investigated waters are in the range 1.0–18.7 μSv/y. Those doses are lower than WHO and IAEA reference value (100 μSv/y) for drinking water.     

Selective permeation of plutonium(IV) through supported liquid membrane containing 2-ethylhexyl 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid as ion carrier

The selective transport of plutonium across supported liquid membrane using an indigenously synthesized 2-ethylhexyl 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid (KSM-17, equivalent to PC 88A) dissolved in dodecane as carrier has been investigated in this work. Laminar type polypropylene hydrophobic microporous membranes were used as solid supports. Transport experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of varied hydrodynamic and chemical compositions of the system, i.e., stirring speed, carrier concentration, anionic composition (e.g. SO²⁻₄, NO⁻₃, PO³⁻₄, ClO⁻₄, Cl⁻) and acidity of source phase (SP) solution. Transport rates of plutonium from SP solutions of different anionic composition followed the order: ClO⁻₄>NO⁻₃>Cl⁻>SO²⁻₄>PO³⁻₄. Selective permeability of plutonium was observed in the presence of several cationic impurities such as Al, B, Be, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Si, Zn, Ce, Dy, Eu, Gd and Sm. Using this technique, separation of plutonium from laboratory analytical waste was accomplished with an average flux 8.94×10⁻⁶ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ and with an enrichment factor greater than 2. The product solution obtained from this process was in oxalate medium with negligible contamination from other cationic and anionic impurities. From this solution, plutonium was precipitated as Pu-oxalate for further processing. Reusability of the membrane support was found to be satisfactory.     

Dysprosium pertraction through facilitated supported liquid membrane using D2EHPA as carrier

The pertraction of dysprosium (Dy) through a supported liquid membrane (SLM) system consisting of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) support, D2EHPA (di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid) dissolved in kerosene as membrane solution, and HNO₃ solution as stripping solution, was studied. The experiments were designed by the Taguchi method in order to investigate the effects of initial Dy concentration, feed phase pH, different stripping solution concentration, and D2EHPA concentration in the membrane phase on Dy pertraction. Optimal experimental conditions for Dy pertraction were obtained using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) (feed concentration: 130 mg L^?1, D2EHPA concentration: 0.90 M, feed phase pH: 5, stripping phase concentration: 2 M). In addition, the stability of the carrier in terms of its leaching from the membrane support was studied over a period of 6 days and was found to be satisfactory over that time.     

Extraction of Uranium(VI) using D2EHPA/TOPO based supported liquid membrane

This work concerns the extraction of U(VI) using supported liquid membrane (SLM) by di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) as a membrane support. The influence of ionic strength (S), stirring rate (V) and extraction time (t) were studied. The effect of membrane thickness on the permeability and extraction yield of uranium was investigated. A comparative study was carried out using a 2³ full factorial design between SLMs with one membrane and two membranes, and to achieve the best conditions of recovery procedure, obtaining the mutual interaction among variables and optimizing these variables. The recovery of U(VI) is almost quantitative, and the supported liquid membrane with two membranes in series is effective.     

Solid phase extraction of zinc(II) using a PVC-based polymer inclusion membrane with di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as the carrier

A polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) is reported consisting of 45% (m/m) di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) immobilized in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) for use as a solid phase absorbent for selectively extracting Zn(II) from aqueous solutions in the presence of Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) and Fe(II). Interference from Fe(III) in the sample is eliminated by precipitation with orthophosphate prior to the extraction of Zn(II). Studies using a dual compartment transport cell have shown that the Zn(II) flux (2.58 × 10⁻⁶ mol m⁻² s⁻¹) is comparable to that observed for supported liquid membranes. The stoichiometry of the extracted complex is shown to be ZnR₂·HR, where R is the D2EHPA anion.     

Separation of Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions by supported liquid membrane using D2EHPA/M2EHPA as mobile carrier

The separation of Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions was studied in an aqueous sulphate medium using supported liquid membrane (SLM). D2EHPA/M2EHPA was used as a mobile carrier, microporous hydrophobic PTFE film was used as a solid support for the liquid membrane, and the strip phase was sulphuric acid. The effects of different parameters such as feed concentration, carrier concentration, feed phase pH, and strip phase pH on the separation factor and flux of Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions were studied. The optimum values obtained to achieve the maximum flux were 5.0 for feed pH, 40 vol. % for D2EHPA/M2EHPA concentration in the membrane phase, 0.5 for strip pH, and 0.012 mass % for feed concentration. Under these optimum conditions, the flux values of Cd(II) and Ni(II) were 15.7 × 10^?7 kg m^?2 s^?1 and 2.6 × 10^?7 kg m^?2 s^?1, respectively. The separation factors of Cd(II) over Ni(II) were studied under different experimental conditions. At a carrier concentration of 10 vol. % and feed concentration of 0.012 mass %, the maximum value of 185.1 was obtained for the separation factor of Cd(II) over Ni(II). After 24 h, the percentages of the extracted Cd(II) and Ni(II) were 83.3 % and 0.45 %, respectively.     

Zn(II), Cd(II) and Cu(II) separation through organic–inorganic Hybrid Membranes containing di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid or di-(2-ethylhexyl) dithiophosphoric acid as a carrier

A membrane process for metal recovery from aqueous solutions was studied. Metal ions diffused from the feed solution to the stripping phase through an Hybrid Membrane containing di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and/or di-(2-ethylhexyl) dithiophosphoric acid (D2EHDTPA) as a carrier. Such membranes were prepared by a sol–gel route including cellulose triacetate and polysiloxanes. Transport behaviour was evaluated for both carriers under similar experimental conditions. The transport experiments reported here concerned transport at different cycles and selectivity towards different metal ions. Using D2EHPA the membrane provided a selective transport of zinc to the stripping compartment of the membrane cell, while copper and cadmium remained in the feed compartment. Whereas, using D2EHDTPA as carrier the transport rate increased and the selectivity profiles were inverted in relation with those of D2EHPA. With a mixture of both extracting agents it was observed an intermediate behaviour in selective transport, being possible to modulate it.     

Solvent extraction of Fe(III) by di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid from phosphoric acid solutions

The extraction of iron(III) from aqueous phosphoric acid was studied using di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid and trioctylphosphine oxide in nonaromatic hydrocarbon diluent. Distribution ratios have been investigated as a function of concentration of iron(III), phosphoric acid concentration, extractant concentration and extraction temperature. The apparent enthalpy change for the extraction reaction has been calculated from the temperature dependence data. It was found that the extractant dependency for iron(III) is first power indicating hydrolysis of iron(III) in the aqueous phase.     

Studies on the solvent extraction behaviour of Pu(IV) from sulfuric acid medium into di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (HDEHP)

Extraction of plutonium(IV) from aqueous sulfuric and sulfuric-nitric acid into di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (HY) in the diluents n-dodecane, toluene or chloroform has been investigated. The composition of the Pu(IV) species extracted from H₂SO₄ was found to be PuH₂Y₆, which changed to Pu(NO₃)H₂Y₅ and Pu(NO₃)₂H₂Y₄ with increasing concentration of nitrate ion in the aqueous medium. These three species can be represented as PuY₂(HY₂)₂, Pu(NO₃)Y(HY₂)₂ and Pu(NO₃)₂(HY₂)₂, respectively, where Y represents the anion of monomeric HY, and HY₂ the anion of dimeric H₂Y₂. Synergism in the extraction of Pu(IV) by the addition of thenoyltrifluoroacetone (HTTA) to HY was also investigated and attributed to extraction of the additional species, Pu(TTA)Y(HY₂)₂ and Pu(TTA)₂(HY₂)₂. The addition of the neutral extractant tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) to HY did not result in synergism in the extraction of Pu(IV) from aqueous sulfuric acid. With aqueous nitric acid under similar conditions, however, synergism was observed. The possible equilibria in these systems were identified and the corresponding equilibrium constants were determined.     

Extraction recovery of vanadium(IV) from acid sulfate solutions with di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid

Extraction of vanadium(IV) with di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid from acid sulfate solutions in the presence of sodium sulfate was studied. The composition of the complex being extracted was found, and the equation of the extraction reaction was determined. The equilibrium constant of the reaction by which vanadium(IV) is extracted with di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid was found by taking into account the complexation of vanadium(IV) in acid sulfate solutions.     

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.     

Transport of titanium(IV) ions across di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid-CCl4 supported liquid membranes

Transport study for Ti(IV) ions using di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid (D2EHPA) (carrier)-CCl₄ (diluent) liquid supported membrane in microporous polypropylene hydrophobic film has been performed. The parameters studied are effects of carrier, H₂SO₄, stripping agent (NH₄F) concentrations and temperature variation on flux and permeability coefficients of the metal ion. The optimum concentrations of transport found are 2.04 mol·dm^–3 D2EHPA, 1.0 mol·dm^–3 H₂SO₄ in the feed and 1 mol·dm^–3 NH₄F as stripping agent. The maximum flux and permeability coefficient determined are 1.32·10^–5 mol·m^–2·s^–1 and 8.02·10^–12 mol·m^–2·s^–1, respectively. The transport of this metal ion is increased with increase in temperature. The mechanism of transport appears to be based on coupled counter ion transport phenomenon.     

Mass spectrometric study of the radiolysis of di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid

A mass spectrometric study on DEHPA was carried out and compared with radiolysis data on DEHPA for γ-irradiation in the liquid phase. The mass spectra of DEHPA show an extremely low intensity of parent ion and the presence of double rearrangement ions of (RO)P(OH) ₃ ⁺ and P(OH) ₄ ⁺ , where R is the 2-ethylhexyl group. The appearance potentials of the principal ions in the mass spectrum were determined and the dissociation processes of DEHPA in the phase discussed. The fragment ions show good agreement with the results in the liquid phase where the mono-ester, orthophosphoric acid, octane and heptane were formed by the dealkylation, however, the peak intensities of some fragment ions in the mass spectrum differ from the radiolytic yields of the corresponding products. These differences imply the significant role of neutralization and recombination reactions in the liquid phase radiolysis.     

The intensity of spontaneous surface convection in di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid systems

The dependence of the rate of the arising and evolution of spontaneous surface convection (SSC) on various effects during the extraction of rare-earth metals (REMs) with heptane (or toluene) solutions of di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) (HA) was studied. The intensity of SSC in heptane was higher than in toluene systems. In the same solvent, it was higher for the elements from the cerium subgroup. At low concentrations of a REM salt in the starting aqueous solution, the modulus of the surface rate of liquid flow in the dynamic interphase layer (DIL) was high because low-solubility salt particles experienced sedimentation, and the interphase surface was renewed. It was concluded that, at higher REM concentrations in the aqueous phase, the modulus of the surface flow rate was considerably higher because of the accumulation of LnA₃ and structure formation in the interphase layer. For comparison, we give the moduli of surface flow rates of liquids during the re-extraction of acids in a toluene, HNO₃/water system, in which the rate is higher than in aqueous REM(III) salt/D2EHPA solution in an organic diluent. Original Russian Text ? N.F. Kizim, E.N. Golubina, 2009, published in Zhurnal Fizicheskoi Khimii, 2009, Vol. 83, No. 7, pp. 1384–1390.     

Atomic absorption determination of indium after extraction with di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid

The equilibrium data show that indium can be quickly extracted from acidic aqueous solutions by di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid in methyl isobutyl ketone. In this polar solvent the species ML₃·HL is extracted. The overall extraction constant is higher than that for other tervalent metals. The extraction process can be combined with AAS determination of the indium. The method is fast because stripping is not necessary, and the organic phase can be analysed directly by AAS. Use of a 51 v/v aqueous: organic phase ratio increases the sensitivity. In the pH-range used the method has good selectivity.