Separation of zirconium and hafnium using Diphonix® chelating ion-exchange resin

The sorption behavior and possible separation of zirconium and hafnium from acid solution was studied on Diphonix® chelating resin containing diphosphonic, sulfonic and carboxylic acid groups. Sulfuric acid solution was selected and then used in dynamic studies. The effects of acid concentration, temperature and solution flow rate on the separation of Zr and Hf using Diphonix® ion-exchanger were investigated. The best separation of these elements was obtained in 0.5 M H2SO4 at 22 °C with a linear flow rate < 7.5 cm/h (< 0.79 BV/h). Results show Diphonix® resin to be very promising in the separation of zirconium from hafnium.