The invention pertains to a process for separating at least one first chemical element E.sub.1 from at least one second chemical element E.sub.2 coexisting in a mixture in the form of oxides, comprising the following steps: a) a step to solubilise a powder of one or more oxides of the said at least one first chemical element E.sub.1 and a powder of one or more oxides of the said at least one second chemical element E.sub.2 in a medium comprising at least one molten salt of formula MFAlF.sub.3 wherein M is an alkaline element, after which there results after this step a mixture comprising the said molten salt, a fluoride of the said at least one first chemical elements E.sub.1 and a fluoride of the said at least one second chemical element E.sub.2; b) a step to contact the mixture resulting from step a) with a medium comprising a metal in the liquid state, the said metal being a reducing agent capable of predominantly reducing the said at least one first chemical element E.sub.1 relative to the said at least one second chemical element E.sub.2, after which there results after this step a two-phase medium comprising a first phase called metal phase comprising the said at least one first chemical element E.sub.1 in oxidation state 0, and a second phase called saline phase comprising the molten salt of above-mentioned formula MFAlF.sub.3 and a fluoride of the said at least one second chemical element E.sub.2.

The present invention relates to use of a chelating compound for chromatographic separation of rare earth elements, actinides, and/or s-, p- and d-block metals, and to a method of chromatographic separation of chelates of rare earth elements, actinides and/or s-, p- and d-block metals from a mixture of at least two metal ions. The method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: (a) providing a mixture of at least two different metal ions chosen from rare earth metal ions, actinide ions and/or s-, p- and d-block metal ions, (b) contacting metal ions comprised in said mixture to with at least one compound of general formula (I) as defined in any one of the preceding claims to form chelates; (c) subjecting the chelates from step (b) to chromatographic separation, wherein optionally at least one separated metal chelate obtained in step (c) can be subjected to at least one further chromatographic separation in order to increase the purity of the at least one separated metal chelate; and, optionally, (d) obtaining the metal from the at least one separated metal chelate.

The present invention relates to use of a chelating compound for chromatographic separation of rare earth elements, actinides, and/or s-, p- and d-block metals, and to a method of chromatographic separation of chelates of rare earth elements, actinides and/or s-, p- and d-block metals from a mixture of at least two metal ions. The method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: (a) providing a mixture of at least two different metal ions chosen from rare earth metal ions, actinide ions and/or s-, p- and d-block metal ions, (b) contacting metal ions comprised in said mixture to with at least one compound of general formula (I) as defined in any one of the preceding claims to form chelates; (c) subjecting the chelates from step (b) to chromatographic separation, wherein optionally at least one separated metal chelate obtained in step (c) can be subjected to at least one further chromatographic separation in order to increase the purity of the at least one separated metal chelate; and, optionally, (d) obtaining the metal from the at least one separated metal chelate.

The present invention relates to a process for the extraction of metals from an aqueous phase by means of specific ionic liquids.

The invention relates to a separation and recovery method for radioactive waste slag and specifically relates to a separation and recovery method for monazite slag. The separation and recovery method comprises the following steps: acid leaching, pressure filtration, water washing, extraction of valuable components and treatment of filtration slag. The separation and recovery method provided by the invention performs low-acid and low-temperature leaching on monazite slag, so that a liquid phase and a solid phase are easy to separate; after an ore dressing process is adopted for performing ore dressing and alkali decomposition on secondary slag, closed-loop circulation and recovery of uranium, thorium and rare earth is realized; and simultaneously, extraction raffinate waste acid is recycled, so that the emission of waste water is reduced, the consumption of sulfuric acid and fresh water and the treatment cost of the waste water are reduced, the production cost is reduced, the recovery rate of the valuable elements, namely the uranium, the thorium and the rare earth is more than 97%, and the whole process has no emission of the radioactive waste water and waste slag.

The invention relates to a separation and recovery method for radioactive waste slag and specifically relates to a separation and recovery method for monazite slag. The separation and recovery method comprises the following steps: acid leaching, pressure filtration, water washing, extraction of valuable components and treatment of filtration slag. The separation and recovery method provided by the invention performs low-acid and low-temperature leaching on monazite slag, so that a liquid phase and a solid phase are easy to separate; after an ore dressing process is adopted for performing ore dressing and alkali decomposition on secondary slag, closed-loop circulation and recovery of uranium, thorium and rare earth is realized; and simultaneously, extraction raffinate waste acid is recycled, so that the emission of waste water is reduced, the consumption of sulfuric acid and fresh water and the treatment cost of the waste water are reduced, the production cost is reduced, the recovery rate of the valuable elements, namely the uranium, the thorium and the rare earth is more than 97%, and the whole process has no emission of the radioactive waste water and waste slag.

The present invention describes a method for purification of .sup.225Ac from irradiated .sup.226Ra-targets provided on a support comprising a leaching treatment of the .sup.226Ra-targets for leaching essentially for the entirety of .sup.223Ac and .sup.226Ra with nitric or hydrochloric acid, followed by a first extraction chromatography for separating .sup.225Ac from .sup.226Ra and other Ra-isotops and a second extraction chromotography for separating .sup.223Ac from .sup.210Po and .sup.210Pb. The finally purified .sup.225Ac can be used to prepare compositions useful for pharmaceutical purposes.

A method for recovering heavy metals and rare earth elements from fly ash, coal ash, and unrefined mineral ores containing rare earth metals using an ionic liquid and an organic acid to solubilize the metals. The solubilized components are removed from the ionic liquid by electrochemical deposition. The heavy metals and rare earth elements are deposited onto an electrode, and then purified via electrochemical processing.

A process for recovering copper from heap leach residues, the process comprising treating heap leach residues to provide treated heap leach residues providing improved permeability of a heap of the treated heap leach residues, and leaching the heap of the treated heap leach residues with a leaching solution. Treating the heap leach residues includes: a) blending the heap leach residues with additional material to provide a blend; or b) agglomerating the heap leach residues; or c) both blending the heap leach residues with additional material and agglomerating.

Siderocalin-metal chelator combinations that bind metallic radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine with high affinity are described. The high affinity siderocalin-metal chelator combinations include a number of chelator backbone arrangements with functional groups that coordinate with metals. The siderocalin-metal chelator combinations can be used to deliver radionuclides for imaging and therapeutic purposes.