Innovative approach to enhance uranium ion flux by consecutive extraction via hollow fiber supported liquid membrane

The enhancement of liquid membrane performance in this study, by consecutive extraction using a synergistic extractant, is the first to demonstrate that the synergistic extractant, normally employed in the solvent extraction process, can also be extended to extraction applications via a liquid membrane. The study focuses on increasing the flux of metal ions using a consecutive extraction reaction which occurs inside the liquid membrane phase. Uranium ions in trisodium phosphate solution, a by-product of monazite processing, are the specie of interest in this experiment. The feed solution is trisodium phosphate containing uranium ions, whereas the stripping solution is nitric acid. The extractant is Aliquat336 mixed with TBP in kerosene. The results demonstrate that when Aliquat336 is mixed with TBP, the flux of uranium ions is synergistically increased because of a consecutive extracting reaction in the liquid membrane phase. The highest flux is 3600 mg m−2 s−1 with 0.06 M TBP and 0.6 M Aliquat336. Synergistic extraction is also obtained because the flux is much higher than that obtained using a single extractant.