Dynamic light scattering studies on the aggregation behavior of tributyl phosphate and straight chain dialkyl amides during thorium extraction

Dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies were carried out to investigate the aggregation behavior of 1.1 M solutions of tributyl phosphate (TBP), N,N-dihexyl octanamide (DHOA) and of N,N-dihexyl decanamide (DHDA) in n-dodecane equilibrated with varying concentrations of nitric acid (0.1–6 M) and of Th (10–200 g/L). There was a gradual increase in thorium extraction with increased aqueous phase acidities. A significant enhancement in the aggregate sizes was observed with increasing concentration of thorium in the organic phase. The effect of 1-octanol as phase modifier was also investigated on the aggregation behavior of extracted species for TBP system.