Comparative study for the solvent extraction of uranium from wet process phosphoric acid using two convenient organic solvents

Di (2-ethyl-hexyl) phosphoric acid (D₂EHPA), Tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) and tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) are the organic solvents that have the ability to extract uranium. In this study, the loading and stripping stages of solvent extraction process and the extraction properties of D₂EHPA+TBP and D₂EHPA+TOPO pairs were investigated. Pre-treated wet process phosphpric acid was the uranium containing acidic solution. Test results showed that D₂EHPA+TOPO is a better extradant pair than D₂EHPA+TBP related with the phosphoryl group structures of TOPO and TBP. This difference is an advantage for TOPO for both loading and stripping stages.