Cyphos Nitrate Selectively Separates Y(III) from Sr(II) Present in Acidic Feed Solution: An Efficient Ionic Liquid based Extraction Process

Abstract Mutual separation of Y(III) and Sr(II) from their waste solution has been an emerging research domain due to their various industrial applications. In this investigation, we emphasize the feasibility of selective separation of Y(III) from Sr(II) present in nitric acid medium using undiluted cyphos nitrate ionic liquid (IL): trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium nitrate ([P 66614 ][NO 3 ]) as the ligating phase. The set experimental parameters were the feed phase acidity, initial nitrate ion concentration, initial feed metal ion concentration, equilibration time and temperature to unveil the efficacy of the proposed system. Efficient extraction of Y(III) selectively in presence of Sr(II) using only a salting agent in aqueous phase without additional extractant in IL phase was highlighted. A remarkable separation factor (SF) obtained for Y(III) over Sr(II) explored the efficacy of the proposed IL system. Y(III) loading in IL phase both in unirradiated and irradiated conditions was compared to evaluate the coordination behavior of irradiated moieties. In addition, a most important advantage of the proposed system is that it employs Milli‐Q water for the back extraction (stripping) of the loaded Y(III) from IL phase and does not demand any complexing agent (water soluble). This undoubtedly corroborates the economic and environmental benefits of the proposed IL system.