Abstract
This paper presents the results of a study of experiments on the sorption characteristics of phosphorus-containing ion exchangers Purolite MTS9580 (functional group ‒ derivatives of phosphonic acid) and Lewatit TP260 (functional group ‒ aminomethylphosphonic acid) on scandium. Using the method of low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, structural characteristics of selected ion exchangers Purolite MTS9580 and Lewatit TP260 respectively were measured. The specific surface of Purolite MTS9580 and Lewatit TP260 ion exchangers was measured as 5.1 and 4.5 m2/g, respectively. The obtained values indicate the presence of a macroporous structure in the ion exchangers. Experiments were carried out on the sorption of scandium and critical impurities in a static mode and dynamic mode while varying the acidity of the initial mother liquor of the sorption of uranium. Comparison of scandium sorption from pre-acidified uranium sorption mother liquor with Lewatit TP260 and Purolite MTS9580 ion exchangers showed an advantage for MTS9580 resin. The MTS9580 resin had an exchange capacity of 200 mg Sc/dm3 versus 59.7 mg Sc/dm3 for TP260. The dynamic exchange capacity of Purolite MTS9580 is much lower in relation to harmful impurities as Al, Fe, Ca, etc.
Highlights
Scandium is a precious and rare metal due to the high cost of scandium and the complex metallurgical processes of its isolation and purification
Among sources rich in rare-earth elements, the intermediate products of processing of uranium ores ‒ solutions of underground leaching of uranium are very promising for scandium supply
The proportion of large pores is the same for both resins, but the fraction of small pores in Purolite MTS9580 (20‒40 nm) is slightly higher compared to Lewatit TP260 (10‒20 nm), which suggests the best kinetic characteristics of Purolite MTS9580 with respect to metal cations
Summary
Scandium is a precious and rare metal due to the high cost of scandium and the complex metallurgical processes of its isolation and purification. Due to its low content in mineral ores, scandium is usually isolated from various sources, such as uranium production solutions [5], as a by-product from tailings processing, titanium pigment produc-. Among sources rich in rare-earth elements, the intermediate products of processing of uranium ores ‒ solutions of underground leaching of uranium are very promising for scandium supply. The peculiarities of processing solutions of underground leaching of uranium include, as a rule, a low rare earth elements content and a complex chemical composition. In this regard, many technologies developed by industry for concentrating and extracting REEs are unsuitable and inefficient. Sorption extraction of REEs seems most appropriate at the stage of primary concentration
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