Thorium Production

Thorium Production

Thorium is extracted from its phosphate contained in monazite concentrates. Two industrial ways of processing are commercially significant:

1. Treatment by sulphuric acid at 200°C (sulphatization)
2. Treatment by alkaline at 140°C

All rare earth elements, thorium and phosphoric acid pass in the sulphuric solutions. When the solution pH reaches 1 thorium phosphate is precipitated. The precipitation is isolated and dissolved in nitric acid. Then, thorium nitrate is extracted by organic solvent from which thorium may be easily washed out as complex compounds. During the concentrate alkali uncovering metal hydroxides stay in the sediments and trisodium phosphate gets into the solution. Precipitation is separated and dissolved in hydrochloric acid. Thorium hydroxide is precipitated by decreasing the solution pH until 3.6-5. ThO₂, ThCl₄ and ThF₄ are obtained from separated and purified thorium compounds; these are basic initial substances for thorium metal extraction by metallothermic methods or molten salts electrolysis.

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Thorium, Th

Isotopes

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