Sorption properties of aluminum hexacyanoferrate for platinum group elements

Mishima, Ria ; Inaba, Yusuke*; Tachioka, Sotaro*; Harigai, Miki*; Watanabe, Shinta*; Onoe, Jun*; Nakase, Masahiko*; Matsumura, Tatsuro  ; Takeshita, Kenji*

Separation of platinum group metals (PGMs) from high-level liquid waste generated from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels is important to produce good quality vitrified glass for final disposal. A new sorbent, Aluminum hexacyanoferrate (AlHCF), was synthesized and the general sorption behavior of PGMs from concentrated nitric acid was examined. Nitric acid caused substantial elution of AlHCF but the sorption of Pd stabilized the structure. Consequently, Rh was sorbed in the presence of Pd, whereas single Rh sorption caused complete dissolution of AlHCF. Relation between sorbed mount of Pd vs eluted Al and Fe revealed that the elution ratio of Al and Fe was not the same as molar ratio of synthesized AlHCF, indicating the re-sorption of Fe resulted in formation of new structure. The sorption mechanism of PGMs by this new sorbent, AlHCF, not only the simple ion exchange, but also oxidation reduction reaction as well as kinetics play important rule. Understanding the general sorption and dissolution behavior will help improve the sorption performance of PGMs by AlHCF.