title: Extraction of ruthenium thiocyanate and its separation from rhodium by polyurethane foam.
abstract: Conditions for the formation and extraction of the thiocyanate complex of ruthenium are reported. Distribution coefficients of more than 10(4) and a capacity of about 0.24 mole per kg of foam were obtained. The effect of the chloride salts of various univalent cations on the extraction of Ru(SCN)(6)(3-) indicated that the efficiency of ruthenium extraction depends on how well the cation fits into the polyether segment of the polyurethane foam, which agrees with the "cation-chelation" mechanism. The separation of ruthenium and rhodium indicated that more than 95% of the rhodium remained in the aqueous phase and about 95% of the ruthenium was retained by the polyurethane foam and could be easily recovered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Al-Bazi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chow