Description
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Thorium is an actinide that is a silvery white solid in its natural solid state. It has slight radioactive characteristics, and it has the longest liquid range of all known elements. Thorium has an atomic weight of 232.03806, a melting point of 3348 °F, and a boiling point of 8650 °F. Some common uses of thorium include: as an alloy with magnesium for aircraft, as a component in tungsten wire, as a component in material used to produce nuclear fuel, and as a radiation shield.
Isolation
Thorium is a commonly found element and occurs in many rocks and soils. It is usually isolated from certain minerals.
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The isolation processes of thorium are usually carried out on minerals such as thorium phosphate and monazite. Monazite can carry as much as 21% thorium in its structure, and it is the main ore that is used for thorium extraction and isolation. Processing thorium from monazite is a complex process, and so it is hardly ever isolated on a small scale laboratory basis. This process begins with extracting monazite sand and then dissolving it in an inorganic acid, mainly sulfuric acid. Next, the thorium is extracted from the solution using an amine compound. The extracted complex of thorium is then treated to an anion compound such as a chloride or hydroxide; this step dissolves the thorium out in a liquid phase. Precipitation of the thorium is used to further isolate it. Isolated thorium needs to be handled with caution even though the levels of radiation it emits cannot penetrate skin.