The extraction of thorium from monazite sands and coal fly ash is of growing interest because of the potential application as a nuclear fuel to replace uranium in nuclear reactors. Thorium has been explored for use in Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors for nuclear fission. Monazite sands and coal fly ash contain thorium and rare earth elements that must be separated for thorium refinement. Current industrial processes utilize the liquid-liquid extraction of rare earth elements and thorium using organic ligands. Alternatively, solid-state adsorbents can offer substantial benefits for the selective thorium and rare earth extractions. Porous carbon materials are of interest due their stability in acids and bases, reusability, simple industrial operation, and high extraction/recovery of elements. Excellent preforming adsorbents WMC and WMC-O, oxygen-functionalized wrinkled mesoporous carbon, were prepared and employed for the selective extraction of thorium ions from acidic media. High surface area, 3D porosity, and surface oxygen functionalization all contribute to the excellent adsorbance performance of the WMC-O. It was found that at pH &lt; 2.7, the 4+ oxidation state of thorium ions is preferred for chemisorption onto WMC-O. The WMC-O has an outstanding adsorption capacity with a distribution coefficient (Kd) of 13Χ104 at pH of 2.15 for thorium ions. Compared to activated carbon (Kd = 35Χ102) and CMK-8 (Kd = 13Χ102), WMC-O is a far superior adsorbent for the extraction and recovery thorium and rare earth elements.

Wrinkled mesoporous carbon (WMC) for the selective extraction of thorium and rare earth elements

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.