Continuous Ion Exchange Separation of Uranium from Copper Sulphate Solution

Abstract

This experiment demonstrates the technique of radiochemical separation of uranium from copper using ion-exchange resin. A mixture of uranyl sulphate and copper sulphate solutions was passed through an ion-exchange column packed with Amberlite resin (IRA-420, chloride form), where uranium was retained on the resin as the complex anion [UO2(SO4)3]4−. Copper was first eluted with distilled water, followed by elution of the retained uranium complex using ammonium nitrate solution. All collected aliquots were measured by gamma-ray spectroscopy under low-background counting conditions, with the system calibrated against a 152Eu source. The results confirm successful separation of uranium from copper, with an average uranium recovery of 83.8% achieved upon elution with ammonium nitrate. The uranium daughter product, 234Th, passed through the column to a greater extent than uranium itself, indicating that separation between uranium and its own decay products was less complete than the uranium–copper separation.