Purification of zirconyl sulfate by solvent extraction. Report of investigations/1984

Technical Report · Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:6494843

MacDonald, D J; Henry, H G; Bauer, D J

The Bureau of Mines has conducted bench-scale investigations leading to the design of an integrated process for producing reactor-grade zirconium oxide (ZrO2) from zircon sand, which avoids the air pollution, water pollution, fire hazard, and odor problems associated with the hexone-thiocyanate process. The integrated process consists of three steps: production of crude zirconyl sulfate solution, solvent extraction, and production of ZrO2 from strip liquor. This report describes the solvent extraction step. Multistage, countercurrent liquid-liquid extraction with a tertiary amine in kerosine was used to separate zirconium from a dilute H2SO4 solution containing hafnium and other impurities. These steps were performed simultaneously in steady-state, bench-scale experiments. Zirconium recovery of up to 93 pct was achieved. Results of an economic evaluation are included.

• Research Organization: Bureau of Mines, Reno, NV (USA). Reno Research Center
• OSTI ID: 6494843
• Report Number(s): PB-84-178904; TRN: 84-021928
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
ZIRCONIUM
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES
PRODUCTION
AIR POLLUTION
FIRE HAZARDS
MATERIALS RECOVERY
ODOR
PURIFICATION
SCRUBBING
WATER POLLUTION
ZIRCONIUM SULFATES
CHALCOGENIDES
ELEMENTS
EXTRACTION
HAZARDS
MANAGEMENT
METALS
ORGANOLEPTIC PROPERTIES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
ZIRCONIUM COMPOUNDS
360201* - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Preparation & Fabrication
400105 - Separation Procedures