Sulfate-ion effect on zirconium extraction from acid solutions

An effort is made to assess sulfate-ion effect on zirconium extraction degree by tributylphosphate (tbf) from nitric acid solutions. It is demonstrated, that the sulfate-ion present in the initial solution but chemically not connected with zirconium does not affect significantly zirconium extraction ability. This should be explained by the fact that strong zirconium sulfate combinations are formed only by means of heating. The conclusion that sulfate-ion not connected with zirconium, does not affect extractability is not only of theoretical but also of practical interest as it makes careful hydroxide washing-off of mother solution unnecessary. This allows simplification of the initial solution preparation process