Sorption of Rare-Earth Elements and Ac on UTEVA Resin in Different Acid Solutions

ABSTRACTThe distribution of some rare-earth elements (REEs) on Uranium and TEtraValent Actinides (UTEVA) resin was determined from different concentrations of inorganic (HCl, HNO3, HClO4, HPF6) and one organic acid – CCl3COOH. Low sorption of all REEs in the range of 1 M–5 M HNO3 was observed. In more concentrated HNO3, a rapid increase of the distribution coefficients (Kd) was noticed with an increase in the atomic number of the lanthanides as well as in Y and Sc. The system UTEVA–CCl3COOH showed a higher selectivity for Eu(III). Chromatographic elution profiles were checked in order to confirm the obtained Kd values.