Synergistic extraction of cerium from sulfuric acid medium using mixture of 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono 2-ethylhexyl ester and Di-(2-ethyl hexyl) phosphoric acid as extractant

Synergistic extraction of cerium(IV) from sulfuric acid medium using mixture of 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono 2-ethylhexyl ester(HEH/EHP, HL) and Di-(2-ethyl hexyl) phosphoric acid (HDEHP, HA) as extractant was investigated. The results indicated that the maximum synergistic enhancement coefficients were obtained at the mole fraction of HEH/EHP=0.6, and cerium(IV) was extracted into organic phase in the form of Ce(SO4)0.5HL2A2. A cation exchange mechanism was proposed for the synergistic extraction of Ce(IV). The equilibrium constants and thermodynamic functions such as ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS were determined in the extraction of Ce(IV) from sulfuric medium using mixture of HEH/EHP and HDEHP.