MONTHLY REPORT @OF DEVELOPMENT, MARCH 1960

Technical Report · Mon Oct 31 00:00:00 EST 1960

OSTI ID:4190605

The use of porous stainless steel diffusers in carbonate leaching improved the uranium extraction but decreased the air rate to 0.273 scfm per sq ft pulp area. Tests on pilot plant and plant barrens indicated a final carbonate barren of 0.003 g/l U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ and a sodium amalgam usage of < 1 g Na/g U/ sub 3/O/sub 8/. Preliminary results show retention time to be less than 30 minutes. A flowsheet is presented for a continuous amalgam reduction circuit consisting of a sodium amalgam cell and continuous solution-amalgam contactor. Attempts to reduce the nitric acid consumption of the sodium chlorate ferric ion slag treatment and thereby raise the pH to above 3.9 resulted in a sharp reduction in uranium recovery. No corrosion of electrodes due to shielding failures was observed in five months of operation, indicating that Fiberglas resin is resistant to 30% nitric acid containing 1000 ppm chloride at below 18 deg C. It was established that ammonium diuranate (ADU) pellets do not form on first drying of the ADU precipitate. Best results relative to hardness and uniformity of size pellets were obtained when water was evaporated very fast. The green and sintered densities obtained at 20,000 psi were 4.50 and 10.13 g/cc, respectively, and at 30,000 psi, they were 4.76 and 10.24 g/cc, respectively. Pretreatment produced no effect on the sintered density of ADU at reduction temperatures above 60) deg C in the vertical plate reactor. Sintered densities greater than 10.40 g/cc were obtained in the tube furnace at 400 to 550 deg C. Sintered densities greater than 10.5 g/cc were obtained from spray-dried ADU reduced in the tube furnace at 500 to 55O deg C. By increasing the temperature in the range 1300 to 1700 deg C, UO/sub 2/ sintered density increased. (For previous period see NP-8510.) (C.J.G.)

• Research Organization: Eldorado Mining and Refining Ltd. Research and Development Div., Ottawa
• NSA Number: NSA-14-013773
• OSTI ID: 4190605
• Report Number(s): NP-8599; D-60-2
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-60
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

CHEMISTRY
ACIDITY
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBONATES
CHLORIDES
CORROSION
DENSITY
DIFFUSION
ELECTRODES
EVAPORATION
FURNACES
HARDNESS
HIGH TEMPERATURE
INSTRUMENTS
IONS
IRON
LEACHING
MERCURY ALLOYS
NITRIC ACID
PELLETS
PLATES
REACTORS
RECOVERY
REDUCTION
RESINS
SHIELDING
SINTERED MATERIALS
SINTERING
SLAGS
SODIUM ALLOYS
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
STAINLESS STEELS
TESTING
TUBES
URANATES
URANIUM
URANIUM OXIDES
USES
WATER