Stripping study of U(IV) from loaded TBP/n-paraffin using ammonium nitrate as a strippant

With the increase in uranium loading in the organic, there was an increase in % stripping of uranium for ammonium nitrate whereas for distilled water it became reversed. With the increase of pH of the aqueous ammonium nitrate solution, it was found that stripping increased up to a pH of 8.5 and after that precipitation starts. Increase in temperature of the biphasic system shows an enhancing effect of uranium stripping. Evaluation of thermodynamic data like ΔH and ΔS indicated that the process is endothermic. Equilibrium isotherms at various operating conditions were generated for both water and ammonium nitrate. Based on the optimized conditions, Mc-Cabe Thiele diagrams were constructed using ammonium nitrate (50 g/L) of pH 7.5 at room temperature. Result showed that at an O/A ratio of 2/5, at least 7 theoretical countercurrent stages are needed at room temperature with an initial uranium loading of 115.4 g/L to get 40 g/L of uranyl nitrate pure solution in the rich end leaving only 3 g/L uranium in the lean solvent whereas for water to strip all the uranium (from 100 g/L) requires only 4 numbers of countercurrent stages at an O/A ratio of 2/3 at room temperature