n-Benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine impregnated Amberlite XAD-4 beads for selective removal of thorium

Highlights: • XAD-4 was impregnated with a commonly used gravimetric agent n-benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine. • Sorbent characterized by different techniques to understand the pore filling of XAD-4. • Sorption of Th was fast (30 min) and unaffected by initial solution pH. • Selectivity achieved by tuning the conditions of the mixture solution. - Abstract: n-Benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine impregnated Amberlite XAD-4 beads were used for the removal of Th(IV) from a mixture of ions. The impregnated XAD was characterized using different techniques like weight and colour change, IR spectra, surface area and pore size measurements to confirm the presence of n-BPHA within the macroreticular resin structure. The experimental conditions were optimized to make the separation fast and selective. It was seen that the maximum sorption was achieved in the pH range of 3–7.5 and uptake was nearly complete within half an hour. The results obtained in the present study were subjected to extensive modelling in order to get a complete understanding of the sorption process. It is seen that the maximum uptake was calculated to be 500 mg/g and has very fast kinetics it was seen that the process is chemisorption. It was further deduced from the modelling that the overall sorption process was controlled dominantly by external mass transfer. Considering the simplicity this procedure, the present study has a possible application for the removal of thorium from different mixtures