THE RECOVERY OF URANIUM FROM COMPOSITE UF4 REDUCTION BOMB SCRAP BY A TWO-STAGE PHOSPHATE PRECIPITATION PROCESS

摘要

The results of both laboratory and plant studies at National Lead Company of Ohio have demonstrated that the uranium present in hydrochloric acid leach liquor of C-Oxide can be recovered in the form of a concentrate of low fluoride content by a two - stage phosphate precipitation process. (C-Oxide is a by - product of UF4 reduction that consits of a 50:50 mixture of MgF2 slag and dolomite.) In this process, the uranium is precipitated from the leach liquors at pH 1.5 as uranyl ammonium phosphate (UAP), using phosphoric acid and ammonium hydroxide as the precipitants. This step serves to separate the uranium from the fluoride in solution. The UAP cake then is treated with a solution of sodium hydroxide which converts the uranium to a sodium diuranate type compound and at the same time volatilizes the ammonia and solubilizes most of the phosphate present. The dried product contains, on an average, about 60 per cent uranium, 3 to 5 per cent phosphate, and <0.1 per cent fluoride.