The effect of degree of impregnation in amberlite resins with organophosphorous extractants for Y(III), La(III), Ce(III), Th(IV) and U(VI) ions

Background: The sorption of Y(III), La(III), Ce(III), U(VI) and Th(IV) ions with solvent impregnated resins using diphenylphosphate (DPP), and diphenylphosphinic acid (DPPA) as extractant and Amberlite XAD 16 and Amberlite XAD 2000 as a polymeric support has been studied. The impregnated resins containing various amounts of extractants (10/90, 20/80, 50/50, 60/40) have been prepared by a dry method. The effects of pH, types of extractant, extractant content, surface area of polymeric support and contact time have been investigated by batch method. Results: The impregnation for DPP on XAD-16 and XAD-2000 was 111 and 46% at 60/40 extractant/resin mass ratio, respectively. The impregnation of DPPA at all ratios on both resins was found constant and lower than DPP. The sorption percentage of studied metal ions was within 90-99% for DPP and DPPA on both resins after 20/80 extractant/resin mass ratio. Conclusions: The sorption of DPP on Amberlite XAD 16 and XAD 2000 resins is rather more than DPPA. It could be seen that 20/80 extractant/resin mass ratio is generally adequate for single metal analysis where 60/40 could be suitable for multi-metal analysis.