Zirconium decontamination from aqueous media using lateritic minerals

The sorption behavior of zirconium on minerals from a lateritic weathering has been carried out to evaluate its potential for the decontamination of zirconium ions from aqueous solutions. Various physico-chemical parameters such as selection of appropriate electrolyte, equilibration time, amount of adsorbent, concentration of adsorbate, effect of diverse ions and temperature were studied in order to simulate the best conditions under which this material can be used as an adsorbent, employing batch method and radiotracer technique. Maximum adsorption was observed at 0.005 mol L−1 acid solutions (HNO3, HCl, H2SO4 and HClO4) using 0.3 g of adsorbent for 1.499×10−4 mol L−1 zirconium concentration in five minutes equilibration time. Studies show that the adsorption of zirconium decreases with the increase in the concentrations of all the acids. The adsorption data follows the Freundlich isotherm over the range of 7.5×10−5 to 3.0×10−3 mol L−1 zirconium concentration. The characteristic Freundlich constants i.e. 1/n = 0.55±0.03 and K=1.36×10−3±7.0×10−5 mol g−1 have been computed for the sorption system. The sorption mean free energy from the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm is 11.2±0.4 kJ mol−1 indicating ion-exchange mechanism of chemisorption. The uptake of zirconium increases with the rise in temperature (283-323 K). Thermodynamic quantities i.e. ΔG, ΔS and ΔH have also been calculated for the system. The sorption process was found endothermic.

Cloud point extraction and simultaneous determination of zirconium and hafnium using ICP-OES

In the present study a simple versatile separation method using cloud point procedure for extraction of trace levels of zirconium and hafnium is proposed. The extraction of analytes from aqueous samples was performed in the presence of quinalizarine as chelating agent and Triton X-114 as a non-ionic surfactant. After phase separation, the surfactant-rich phase was diluted with 30% (v/v) propanol solution containing 1 mol l(-1) HNO3. Then, the enriched analytes in the surfactant-rich phase were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The different variables affecting the complexation and extraction conditions were optimized. Under the optimum conditions (i.e. 3.4 x 10(-5) mol l(-1) quinalizarine, 0.1% (w/v) Triton X-114, 55 degrees C equilibrium temperature) the calibration graphs were linear in the range of 0.5-1000 mug l(-1) with detection limits (DLs) of 0.26 and 0.31 microg l(-1) for Zr and Hf, respectively. Under the presence of foreign ions no significant interference was observed. The precision (%RSD) for 8 replicate determinations at 200 microg l(-1) of Zr and Hf was better than 2.9% and the enrichment factors were obtained as 38.9 and 35.8 for Zr and Hf, respectively. Finally, the proposed method was successfully utilized for the determination of these cations in water and alloy samples.

Solvent Sublation and Spectrometric Determination of Iron(II) and Total Iron Using 3-(2-Pyridyl)-5,6-bis(4-phenylsulfonic acid)-1,2,4-triazine and Tetrabutylammonium Bromide

Solvent sublation has been studied for the separation and determination of trace iron(II) in various kinds of water samples. A strongly magenta-colored anionic [Fe(FZ)3](4-) complex was formed at pH 5.0 upon adding 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-bis(4-phenylsulfonic acid)-1,2,4-triazine (ferrozine, FZ) to the sample solution. Tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) was added in the solution to form the (TBA)4[Fe(FZ)3)] ion pair, and an oleic acid (HOL) surfactant was added. Then, the (TBA)4[Fe(FZ)3] ion pairs were floated by vigorous shaking in the flotation cell and extracted into methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) on the surface of the aqueous solution. The iron collected in the MIBK layer was measured directly by spectrophotometry and/or flame atomic-absorption spectrophotometry. Different experimental variables that may affect the sublation efficiency were thoroughly investigated. The molar absorptivity of the (TBA)4[Fe(FZ)3] ion pair was 2.8 x 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1) in the aqueous layer. Beer's law held up to 1.0 mg L(-1) Fe(II) in the aqueous as well as in the organic layers. The adopted solvent sublation method was successfully applied for the determination of Fe(II) in natural water samples with a preconcentration factor of 200. The application was extended to determine iron in pharmaceutical samples.

Separation via Flotation, Spectrophotometric Speciation, and Determination of Vanadium(IV) in Wastes of Power Stations

1-(2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone)-4-phenylthiosemicarbazone (HMBPT) was investigated as a new reagent for the flotation of vanadium(IV). At pH approximately 1.5, vanadium(IV) forms a 1:1 pale-violet complex with HMBPT in aqueous solution. An intense clear violet layer was formed after flotation, by adding an oleic acid (HOL) surfactant. The composition of the float was 1:1 [V(IV)]:[HMBPT]. A highly selective and sensitive spectrophotometric procedure was proposed for the determination of microamounts of V(IV) as its floated complex. The molar absorptivities of the V(IV)-HMBPT and V(IV)-HMBPT-HOL systems were 0.4 x 10(4) and 0.12 x 10(5) L mol(-1) cm(-1) at 560 nm, respectively. The formation constants of the species formed in the presence and absence of HOL were 4.6 x 10(7) and 8.7 x 10(5) L mol(-1), respectively. Beer's law was obeyed up to 1 x 10(-4) mol L(-1) in the aqueous layer as well as in the oleic acid layer. The HMBPT-V(IV) complexes formed in the aqueous solution and scum layer were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared and UV spectrophotometric studies. The mode of chelation between V(IV) and HMBPT is proposed to be due to a reaction between the protonated bidentate HMBPT ligand and V(IV) through the S=C and N=C groups. Interferences from various foreign ions were avoided by adding excess HMBPT and/or Na2S2O3 as a masking agent. The proposed flotation method was successfully applied to the analysis of V(IV) in synthetic mixtures, wastes of power stations, simulated samples and in real ores. The separation mechanism is discussed.