Optimization and modeling of Uranium recovery from acidic aqueous solutions using liquid membrane with Lix-622 as Phenolic-oxime carrier

A reliable process to recover Uranium from acidic solutions is designed using liquid membrane technique. A new stripping phase, Na2SO4 solutions, proved to enhance the membrane stability compared to that of conventional stripping phases. The demulsification of the engineered liquid membrane is not noted within 2 h, independently on the emulsifier content. Spectroscopic, microscopic, and theoretical investigations indicated that Uranium recovery from the feed proceeds via UO2+2 and UO2OH+ species chelation with Phenolic-oxime, nonyle, and tridecanol groups in the membrane. The application of the optimized membrane confers unconditional selective Uranium recovery in the presence of immense concentration of Mo and Fe, very rapid process compared to other liquid membranes reported in the literature, and the membrane is regeneratable. In addition, the membrane showed a promising performance in Thorium recovery. Therefore, this work is not only proposing a new methodology to achieve reliable Uranium recovery from acidic aqueous solutions, but also provides innovative applications of Phenolic-oximes to enhance the performance of liquid membrane processes.& nbsp;(c) 2022 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A reliable process for recovering Uranium from acidic solutions was designed using liquid membrane technique. The use of a new stripping phase, Na2SO4 solution, improved the membrane stability compared to conventional phases. The engineered liquid membrane demonstrated effective chelation of Uranium species with Phenolic-oxime, nonyle, and tridecanol groups, allowing for selective Uranium recovery in the presence of high concentrations of Mo and Fe. The optimized membrane showed a fast and regenerable process, and also exhibited promising performance in Thorium recovery.