Extraction of radium and actinium with dibenzo-21-crown-7 resin and Rose Bengal

The extraction of 224Ra and 228Ac with dibenzo-21-crown-7 resin was studied in solutions with Rose Bengal and identical solutions without Rose Bengal (blanks) from pH 3 to 12. Batch studies demonstrated that actinium is extracted at high pH (> 10) from both solutions but with a significantly higher extraction from the Rose Bengal solutions (maximum extraction ~ 60,000) than the blank solutions (maximum extraction ~ 2,000). In the Rose Bengal solutions, there was a weak extraction of actinium at lower pH (4–10) as well. There was no uptake of radium from the blank solutions, and a weak extraction at all pH levels from the Rose Bengal solutions. Kinetics studies were performed for actinium only, as radium had no significant extraction. Two column studies are demonstrated for the separation of radium from actinium. These separations are moderately effective with ~ 78% of the actinium recovered with no detectable radium.