Highly Hydrated Associate of Tributyl Phosphate in Dodecane
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ANALYTICAL SCIENCES AUGUST 1994, VOL. 10 607 Highly Hydrated Associate of Tributyl Phosphate in Dodecane Hirochika NAGANAWA and Shoichi TACHIMORI Department of Fuel Cycle Safety Research, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki 319-11, Japan The hydration and association of tributyl phosphate (TBP) in dodecane were investigated on the basis of the water distribution between aqueous solutions and TBP-dodecane solutions at 298 K. The water distribution data were analyzed as functions of the TBP concentration in the organic phase and the water activity in the aqueous phase. A highly hydrated TBP trimer was found in the organic phase at high TBP concentrations by the data analysis. At [TBP]org,totat~ 0.02 mol dm-3, no TBP association occurred and only TBP •H2O formed as a unique hydrate. In the range of 0.02 mol dm-3 < [TBP]org,totaic 0.3 mol dm-3, a part of the monohydrate dimerized to form (TBP)2(H20)2. At [TBP]org,total>0.3 mol dm-3, trimerization also occurred at high water activities. The trimer was found to be hydrated with six water molecules, (TBP)3(H20)6. Keywords Tributyl phosphate, hydration, highly hydrated associate The distribution of water between aqueous solutions and tributyl phosphate (TBP)-dodecane solutions has Experimental been the subject of numerous studies in the nuclear fuel- reprocessing industry. The subject has been discussed Preparation from the viewpoint of complex-formation between TBP All of the reagents were of reagent grade. TBP and water, and many complexes have been suggested solutions diluted with dodecane were washed several previously.)-14 Monomeric TBP monohydrate, TBP • times with a 1 mol dm 3 sodium hydroxide solution, then H2O, was supposed in most such studies.)-1o However, with a 0.1 mol dm 3 nitric acid solution, and finally with there is no definite answer regarding other complex- deionized-distilled water. Lithium chloride (purity> formations. 99.0%) and dodecane (purity 99.3%) were used without In the present study, hydration and the association of further purification. TBP were investigated stoichiometrically. The data concerning the water distribution were analyzed as Distribution of water functions of the TBP concentration in the organic phase A portion of water, or an aqueous lithium chloride and the water activity in the aqueous phase. In the solution, and the same volume of a TBP-dodecane calculations, the association number of TBP and the solution were placed in a stoppered glass tube. The two hydration number for the associates were treated as phases were vigorously agitated for 15 min and then unknown values. centrifuged in a chamber thermostated at 298 K. The In the range of TBP concentrations up to 0.3 mol dm3 concentration of water extracted into the organic phase in dodecane, the hydration and dimerization of TBP was measured by Karl-Fischer titration. had been shown in a previous study in our laboratory.15 However, in the reprocessing industry, a TBP solution Co-extraction of water with LiCI--.TBPcomplexes that is much more concentrated, i.e., 30vol% TBP Lithium chloride was added to the liquid-liquid system (1.1 mol dm 3), has been used. At the higher TBP in order to decrease the water activity in the aqueous concentration, successive complicated TBP-water com- phase (a'). Although this inorganic salt distributes low plexation occurs. In the present study, the water in the organic phase, the concentration of water co- distribution was examined over an extended TBP extracted with LiCI-TBP complexes is not negligible at concentration range up to 1.5 mol dm 3 in dodecane (40 extremely high concentrations of the aqueous salt. For vol% TBP). By analyzing the data, a highly hydrated instance, when [LiCI]aq,total>6.2mol dm3, that is, a'<0.6, TBP trimer, (TBP)3(H20)6, was found in addition to the water co-extraction has to be taken into account at TBP •H2O and (TBP)2(H20)2, in the higher TBP concen- [TBP]org,totalhigher than 0.3 mol dm 3. tration range. The highly hydrated trimer was sup- The concentration of the salt actually extracted was posed to be a kind of ring polymer. also checked by means of ion chromatography using 608 ANALYTICAL SCIENCES AUGUST 1994, VOL. 10 K22 [(TBP)2(H20)2]0 a 2.5X103 mol dm-3 aqueous potassium hydrogen- (2) Kl l phthalate solution as an eluent; a portion of the organic [TBP •H2O]o ' phase was shaken with water, and the concentration of salt back-extracted into the aqueous phase was measured where by ion chromatography. While taking note of the relation between the amount of the salt and of water K 22 _ [(TBP)2(H20)2]0TBP extracted into the organic phase, the conditions under ah 2•aW (3) which the water co-extraction with salt complexes can be neglected were chosen in the experiments. Formation of highly hydrated TBP associates When the TBP concentration is higher than 0.3 mol dm 3, other TBP hydrates can form in addition to Theoretical TBP•H20 and (TBP)2(H20)2. The equilibrium can be written as: Hydration and dimerization of TBP The formation of the TBP monomer monohydrate1S mTBP(ah)(0) + nH2O (TBP)m(H20)n(0), can be written as: [(TBP)m(H20)n]0 K mn- TBP TBP(ah)(0) + H2O TBP•H20(0), ah o •aW K [TBP•H20]0 11_ [TBP( (m-1,2,3,..., n=1,2,3,...). (4) ah)]o•a ' (1) The following mass balances can be written as: w where the subscript "o" denotes the species in the organic phase, while the lack of subscript denotes those in the [TBP]0,t = [TBP(ah)]0 + [TBP • H20]0 aqueous phase, TBP(ah) is the anhydrous TBP monomer + 2[(TBP)2(H20)2]0 and aw is the water activity in the aqueous phase; aw=1 + (m[(TBP)m(H20)n]0) for pure water. m=] n=l The monomer monohydrate can dimerize in the = (1+ K1i • aW)[TBP(ah)]0 organic phase15, which can be written as: + 2K22• aW• [TBP(ah)]l 2TBP•H20(0) (TBP)2(H20)2(0), + (m • Kmn• aW• [TBP(ah)J ), m=1 n=1 (5) Fig. 1 The concentration of water extracted by TBP as a function of the total TBP concentration in the organic phase: (a) 0.005 mol dm-3 < [TBP]0,t <_0.02 mol dm-3, (b) 0.02 mol dm-3 < [TBP]0,t < 0.3 mol dm-3, (c) 0.3 mol dm-3 <_[TBP]0,t <_ 1.5 mol dm-3. Calculated lines: (......) only TBP • H2O was taken into account; (-----) TBP •H2O and (TBP)2(H20)2 were taken into account; ( ) TBP•H2O, (TBP)2(H20)2 and (TBP)3(H20)6 were taken into account. These lines were calculated by using equilibrium constants shown in Table 2. ANALYTICAL SCIENCES AUGUST 1994, VOL. 10 609 [H2O]0,t= [H20(free)]0 + [H20]0,E obtained precisely to be 3.06(±0.55), 6.02(±0.88) and = [H20(free)]0+ [TBP•H20]0 0.037(±0.007), respectively. The analysis assuming two additional complexes was also made. No combination + 2[(TBP)2(H20)2]0 of two different additional complexes gave a standard + A deviation better than that obtained in the analysis n= 1(n [(TBP)m(H20)n]0) assuming the sole additional complex of (TBP)3(H20)6. = (KfW+ K11• [TBP(ah)] 0)aW Then, the resulting standard deviation from assuming two additional complexes was rather worse. From + 2K22• aW• [TBP(ah)]o these, no additional complexes other than (TBP)3(H20)6 + (n • Kmn• aW • [TBP(ah)]o ), (6) were found practically in the analyses. m=1 n=1 where [H20]0,E is the concentration of water extracted Stoichiometry for TBP water complexation along with the extractant of TBP. KfWis the distribution By the addition of TBP at high concentration to constant of free water: KfW=[H2O(free)]0/aW. dodecane, the activity coefficient of TBP could be On the basis of Eqs. (5) and (6), the data of [H2O]0,t changed from unity, and, thus, the equilibria for the free can be analyzed as functions of [TBP]0,t and aW by a water distribution and TBP-water complexation could successive-approximation method using a least-squares be apparently changed. In order to appraise this, both computer program. the equilibrium constants and their errors were deter- mined at individual TBP concentrations by analyzing the water-distribution data as a function of aW. When the Results TBP concentration in dodecane is constant, the medium of the organic phase can be uniform. In such a uniform Formation of highly hydrated TBP associates medium, the values of KfW,K11, K22 and K36 can be Figures 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c) give the water distribution as regarded as being constants. Figures 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c) a function of the TBP concentration in dodecane: (a) give the distribution of water as a function of aWat (a) 0.005 mol dm 3 < [TBP]0,t <_0.02 mol dm 3, (b) 0.02 mol [TBP]0,t=0.005, 0.01 and 0.02 mol dm 3, (b) [TBP]0,t= dm-3 < [TBP]0,t <_ 0.3 mol dm-3, (c) 0.3 mol dm-3 0.02, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.3 mol dm 3, (c) [TBP]0,t=0.5, 0.7, [TBP]0,t<_ 1.5 mol dm 3. The values of aWwere calcu- 0.9,1.1,1.3 and 1.5 mol dm-3, respectively.