An economic evaluation has been made of the silica gel adsorption process for the separation of hafnium and zir¬conium. It is estimated that hafnium-free zirconium can be prepared at a cost of $7.10 per pound in the form of ZrOCl2*8H20. This salt is satisfactory for the preparation;of ZrP4 by the Ames wet process. While the adsorption process does not appear competitive with the Y-12 thiocyanate extraction process, it is pointed out that there are several revisions of the adsorp¬tion process which should reduce the overall cost. These economies have not as yet been demonstrated, however, on a.-. pilot-plant scale.
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