Now most Di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (DEHPA or HDEHP) is used to remove impurities for Laterite-Nickel ore, then use DZ272 to extract cobalt and magnesium instead of P507, then get nickel from PLS of Laterite-Nickel Ore, the efficiency will be raised more than 200 times. This is a kind of advanced extraction technology.
EHPADEHPA is used in the solvent extraction of uranium salts from solutions containing the sulfate, chloride, or perchlorate anions. This extraction is known as the “Dapex procedure.” Reminiscent of the behaviors of carboxylic acids, DEHPA generally exists as a hydrogen-bonded dimer in the non-polar organic solvents.
For practical applications, the solvent, often called a diluent, is typically kerosene. A complex is formed from two equivalents of the conjugate base of DEHPA and one uranyl ion. Complexes of the formula (UO2)2[(O2P(OR)2]4 also form, and at high concentrations of uranium, polymeric complexes may form.
The extractability of Fe3+ is similar to that of uranium, so it must be reduced to Fe2+ before the extraction.