Applications of Liquid Anion Exchangers for the Separation of Zirconium and Hafnium

Abstract

Zirconium and hafnuim were extracted with 0.1 M of Aliquat 336S in toluene from 0.005 M of ascorbic acid at pH 4.0. Both of the metals were stripped with 2 M hydrochloric acid. Zirconium from the aqueous phase was determined spectrophotometrically with Arsenazo III at 650 nm, while hafnium was determined with Xylenol Orange at 540 nm. The separation of zirconium from hafnium was achieved by stripping hafnium with 9 M hydrochloric acid followed by stripping zirconium with 2 M hydrochloric acid. They were also separated from associated elements in multicomponent mixtures.