Extraction And Stripping Behaviour Of Tri-Iso-Amyl Phosphate And Tri-N-Butyl Phosphate In N-Dodecane With U(Vi) In Nitric Acid Media

Batch extraction of U(VI) by 1.1 M solution of tri-iso-amyl phosphate (TiAP) in n-dodecane (n-DD) from uranyl nitrate solutions in nitric acid media has been investigated as a function of metal loading and equilibrium aqueous phase acidity at 303 K. A method adopted for free acidity determination by using a mixture of potassium oxalate and sodium fluoride for complexing U(VI) has been validated by comparing the data generated in the present study with literature data available for tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) under identical conditions. Extraction and stripping behaviour of 1.1 M TiAP/n-DD-U(VI)/HNO3 and 1.1 M TBP/n-DD-U(VI)/HNO3 systems have been compared by carrying out extraction, scrubbing and a series of stripping in cross-current mode. Stripping behaviour of both the solvents loaded with U(VI) and HNO3 has also been investigated as a function of time to understand the effects of nitric acid induced degradation on stripping.