Cleaning of solutions of alkylphosphates
AssigneeBritish Nuclear Fuels plc
InventorStewart G. Holderness
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for cleaning solutions of an alkylphosphate in a hydrophobic organic solvent. The process involves the steps of washing the solution with aqueous sulphuric acid, and contacting the washed solution with an ion exchange material. The ion exchange material may be a resin of the type designated as styrene divinyl benzene copolymers.
Claims23
A process for cleaning a degraded solution of an alkylphosphate in a hydrophobic organic solvent, the solution being degraded in the solvent extraction of uranium from uranium ore and containing complexed nitric acid and complexed species comprising uranium therein, the process comprising the steps of washing the solution with aqueous sulphuric acid, and contacting the washed solution with an ion exchange material.
A process for cleaning a degraded tributylphosphate solution in a hydrophobic organic solvent, the solution being degraded in the solvent extraction of uranium from uranium ore and containing complexed nitric acid and complexed species comprising uranium therein, the process comprising,
- a) washing the tributylphosphate counter-currently, initially with a weak solution comprising sodium carbonate, and then with aqueous sulfuric acid at a solvent to aqueous ratio of about b 2:1 to remove the complexed nitric aid and the complexed species, the concentration of the sulfuric acid being about 4% by volume, and the temperature during washing being between 18.degree. C. and 25.degree. C.
- b) filtering the washed solution, and
- c) contacting the filtered tributylphosphate solution with a macroreticular anionic styrene divinyl benzene copolymer ion exchange material arranged in a column for a contact time of between 01.1 and 1.0 bed-volumes per hour.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.