Precursor solution prepared by evaporation deamination complex method for solvent separation of Mo and W by H_2O_2-complexation

An novel method on preparation of precursor solution for solvent separation of molybdenum （Mo） and tungsten （W） by hydrogen peroxide （H2O2）-complexation from the ammonium tungstate solution containing high Mo was studied. The precursor solution was obtained via evaporation deamination and H202-complex transformation processes. Then it was extracted with a mixture extractant of tri-alkyl phosphine oxide （TRPO） and tributyl phosphate （TBP） to separate Mo and W. The results indicated that the evaporation deamination complex method reduced the acid consumption by more than 90% in comparison with the traditional directly acid regulation complex method. The transformation rates of W and Mo were higher than 95% and the decomposition rate of H202 was less than 15% at a 1.8-1.9 times H202 dosage, 45-50 ℃, initial pH of 1.80-1.90, and transformation volume ratio of 100% for 60 min in the H2O2-complexation transformation process. The minimum extraction rate of W was 2%, the maximum extraction rate of Mo was 82.6% and the highest separation coefficient was 76.7 in a single-stage extraction.

Extraction and separation of heavy rare earths from chloride medium byα-aminophosphonic acid HEHAPP

The extraction and separation of heavy rare earths（REs） using newly synthesized a-aminophosphonic acid extractant 2-ethylhexyl-3-（2-ethylhexylamino）pentan-3-yl phosphonic acid（HEHAPP, HA） in nheptane were investigated from chloride medium. The extraction stoichiometries of lanthanum, gadolinium, yttrium and lutetium are determined to be REA3 by the slope analysis method. The favorable separation factors of adjacent heavy REs（Ⅲ）,i.e. β（Y/Ho）, β（Er/Y）,β（Tm/Er）,β（Yb/Tm） and β（Lu/Yb）, are determined to be1.87,1.36, 3.21,3.22 and 1.93, respectively, when extracted from a binary system at proper condition. The loading capacities of HA for Ho, Er, Yb and Lu increase in the order Ho 〈 Er 〈 Yb 〈 Lu with the values being 0.201, 0.205, 0.216 and 0.229 mol/L, respectively. So HA would be a potential extractant for the separation of heavy REs（Ⅲ）. Among inorganic acids such as H2 SO4, HNO3 and HCl, HCl is tested to be the most effective stripping agent.

Recent advances of rhenium separation and enrichment in China： Industrial processes and laboratory trials

China is a major producer of rhenium, which is widely used in aerospace technologies （as superalloy） and petrochemical industries （as catalyst）. There is a gap between the demand and fact for the enrichment of rhenium, due to its rather small content （10-9） in the earth＇s crust. Also, there is no available single occurrence of mineral rhenium. Instead, the rhenium is associated with either molybdenum or copper （of up to 0.2% in content） as a by-product in metallurgical industry. This makes the separation of rhenium from the major mineral metals a challenge. The recent progresses in the separation and enrichment of rhenium were reviewed in this paper, especially, the advances in China. The details of varied separation methods used either in laboratories or factories, such as ion-exchange, solvent extraction, separation utilizing extractive resins, liquid membrane, or novel materials, etc., were elaborated. Comparison of the different methods was disclosed and an outlook on the rhenium chemistry and industry in the future was brought forward.