Thiocyanic Acid → Ammonium thiocyanate

Participants

Reaction Steps

This process was allegedly further improved by stripping the loaded solvent with a saturated aqueous solution of ammonium sulfate containing some sulfuric acid, the extract phase containing thiocyanic acid, ammonium sulfate, and the hafnium values in the form of hafnium thiocyanate. Such extract phase is then treated with gaseous ammonia, which reacts with the thiocyanic acid and hafnium thiocyanate to simultaneously form ammonium thiocyanate and hafnium hydroxide. This is said to be of the utmost importance in coprecipitating ammonium sulfate with the hafnium hydroxide to make the hafnium hydroxide easily filterable, see the aforementioned Greenberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,069,232 of Dec. 18, 1962 entitled "Recovery of Hafnium Values." However, not only is the sulfate ion present, but the sulfuric acid introduced into the ammonium sulfate extractant to ensure recovery of the major portion of the thiocyanic acid in the extract phase, contaminates the extract phase and requires additional purification steps.

Provenance & Evidence