Patent ID: 7163570

Claim:
A method for the interseparation of ruthenium, rhodium and iridium metals from a feed solution containing chlorocomplexes of these metals, the method comprising passing said solution through at least one chromatography column containing an absorbent, and the steps of: (a) ensuring that ruthenium is present on the column as at least one of the following species: [Ru(NO)Cl 5 ] 2 − and [Ru(NO)Cl 4 (H 2 O)] − ; (b) ensuring that iridium is present on the column as a tetravalent species; and, (c) applying an oxidizing eluent to the at least one column thereby effecting the elution of the metal chlorocomplexes, separately from one another and in the order rhodium, ruthenium, iridium.