Book Description

An economical process was developed through benchscale experiments for recovering uranium from amine extractants with ammonium carbonate solution. By recycling the strip solution to allow build-up in the concentration of ammonium sulfate (formed in the stripping reactions) to 1-2M, the solubility of uranium in the aqueous phase was limited to 5 g/liter and ammonium uranyl tricarbonate (AUT) precipitated in the stripping system. The AUT, which settled and filtered rapidly, was readily converted to U3i by calcination at 5OO deg C, yielding a high assay (>97% U3O) concentrate virtually free of sodium, molybdenum, and vanadium. Estimated reagent costs for the strippingprecipitation step were 7 cent per pound of U3O. (auth).