A rapid method for the extraction and separation of uranium from thorium and other accompanying elements using octadecyl silica membrane disks modified by tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide

A simple method for rapid and selective separation of uranyl ion from Th4and other accompanying elements by using octadecyl silica membrane disks mo dified with tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) in the presence of 0.5 M HNO 3 is presented. The influences of type and concentration of acid, nature of ligands, flow rates, and nature of stripping agents have been investigated . Maximum capacity of the membrane disks modified by 50 mg TOPO was found t o be 938 mu g of uranium. The method was applied to the recovery of uranyl ion from two different soil samples.