Cation-exchange separation of hafnium and zirconium from accompanying ions

Hafnium and zirconium are not retained on the strongly acidic cation-exchange resin Dowex 50 from a mixture consisting of methanol and 12M nitric acid (19:1) which is 0.1M in trioctylphosphine oxide. On the other hand most other elements investigated are strongly adsorbed on the resin from this medium so that they are readily separated from hafnium and zirconium. These elements include titanium, rare earths, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, iron, cobalt, manganese and zinc. This separation technique has been found to be suitable for the separation of tracer and milligram amounts of hafnium and zirconium from accompanying metal ions. If in place of methanol other organic solvents such as acetone, tetrahydrofuran and methyl glycol are used the selectivity of the separation of zirconium and hafnium from the other elements is decreased. The same effect is observed when hydrochloric acid is used in the mixtures instead of nitric acid.