Extraction of uranium from the sulfuric acid solution using a polymer inclusion membrane containing alamine336

Abstract

A Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) containing alamine336 as the extractant and Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether (POE) as the plasticizer was used for the Transport of uranium from sulfate solution. The effects of extractant and plasticizer concentration in the membrane, sulfuric acid concentration in the feed phase, stripping agent type, and concentration were investigated. The maximum flux of 1.82×10-7 mol/m2s was obtained using a PIM consisting of 40 wt.% alamine336, 23.21 wt.% POE and 36.79 wt.% PVC, 0.1 M sulfuric acid in the feed phase, and 0.5 M (NH4)2CO3 as the stripping phase. The effect of the initial concentration of uranium in the feed phase on uranium transport was also studied. The results show that in the studied range of uranium concentration, the Transport of uranium through the membrane was controlled by diffusion of uranyl ions through the feed phase mass transfer layer. The prepared PIM showed appropriate stability for the Transport of uranium for five consecutive experiments.

Keywords

• polymer inclusion membrane
• alamine336
• polyoxyethylene alkyl ether
• uranium
• sulfuric acid solution
• ammonium carbonate