Separation of strontium and yttrium in nitric acid solutions using zirconium titanium phosphate and Dowex exchangers

In this study, the sorption behavior of yttrium and strontium onto Dowex-S/S and synthesized zirconium titanium phosphate as cation exchanger from nitric acid medium was investigated using batch technique. The synthetic exchanger has been characterized by different analytical tools. Distribution behavior of Sr(II) and Y(III) as a function of HNO3 concentration in the range 0.001-3.0M has been studied. The maximum separation value was (SrY=18.78) at 0.001M HNO3 and 298K while increasing temperature decreases the separation value. The sorption kinetics data followed the pseudo-second order model and thermodynamic data indicated an endothermic and spontaneous process.