Recovery of uranium from aqueous solutions by trioctylamine impregnated polyurethane foam

The efficiency of uranium extraction from dilute aqueous uranyl sulphate solutions using open-cell polyurethane foams was investigated. Impregnation with trioctylamine enhanced the extraction capacity of the foams. Parameters affecting uranium extraction (uranyl concentration, ratio of solution volume:foam weight, pH, trioctylamine concentration, extraction time and temperature) were optimized. The efficiencies of 7 stripping reagents for extracting uranium from the foam back into the aqueous phase were determined: 1 M sodium chloride-0.5 M hydrochloric acid; 1 M sodium chloride-0.05 M sulphuric acid; and 0.9 M ammonium nitrate-0.1 M nitric acid solutions resulted in high efficiencies of 88.7, 90.2 and 90.1 per cent, respectively.