ABSTRACT

To isolate antimony (Sb) from solutions of complex composition, such as those obtained from natural materials and also industrial products, both anion and cation exchange procedures can be employed. Sb is strongly adsorbed on anion exchange resins from hydrofluoric acid (HF) media of all concentrations. From dilute HF media Sb is adsorbed on basic resins to about the same extent as Al, that is, only in very dilute acid solutions adsorption values in the range of 10 to 100 are reached. At higher acidities the adsorption is negligible. In the presence of organic complexing agents such as malonic and tartaric acids Sb forms anionic complexes which are adsorbable on anion exchangers. For example, adsorption from 5% malonate solution of pH 4.8 can be used to isolate Sb from synthetic mixtures and from U fission products.