Solvent extraction and separation of yttrium from other rare earths in chloride medium using the mixture of sec-octylphenoxy acetic acid (CA12, HA) and bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid (Cyanex272. HB) has been investigated. Tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) was used as the phase modifier to achieve fast phase separation and to improve the stability of the organic phase. The separation coefficients (beta) between yttrium and heavy rare earths (HRE) are more significant in the double solvent (HAB) extraction system than the CA12-TBP extraction system. In a laboratory scale test with a fractional extraction process including 15 stages of extraction section and 10 stages of scrubbing section, yttrium was separated from all the other rare earths with a yield of 95% and an yttrium oxide product with 99.94% purity was obtained. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.