WaterSolutions Separation of Group IVB from Liquid Media

Titanium, zirconium and hafnium are present as cations in acid, so a strong acid cation resin like DOWEX™ G-26 (H) resin is the separation media of choice. In hydrochloric acid, Ti, Zr, and Hf have a high affinity for a strong acid cation resin under dilute acid conditions that diminish at about 4 to 8 M HCl then increase as acid concentrations increase. In perchloric acid, a strong acid cation resin has an even higher affinity for these cations. In HF and HCl, these elements also form anions that can be captured on a strong base anion exchange resin like DOWEX 21K XLT resin (1).

Often these metals are separated from other closely associated metals so resins with the maximum number of theoretical plates are needed. Strong acid cation fine mesh resins like DOWEX 50WX8 100-200 or DOWEX 50WX4 100-200 resins are proposed for this separation.

References

1. "Resin Selectivity in Dilute to concentrated Aqueous Solutions" by R.M. Diamond and D.C. Whitney, Chapter 8 of Ion Exchange – A Series of Advances Edited by J.A. Marinsky, Published by Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York (1966).