Uranium recovery from wet-process phosphoric acid
A method of recovering uranium from wet-process phosphoric acid is described in which the acid is treated with a mixture of an ammonium salt or ammonia, a metallic reducing agent such as iron, aluminum or zinc, and then a miscible solvent such as methanol. The precipitated solids, which are separated from the purified phosphoric acid, consist of a mixture of metal phosphates and uranium. This solid is dissolved in acid and the uranium recovered from the solution by liquid-liquid solvent extraction. The miscible solvent and some water are distilled away from the purified phosphoric acid. The distillate is rectified, the water discarded, and the miscible solvent recovered for recycle. When the miscible solvent is methanol, the optimum ranges of ammonia and methanol are 0.05 to 0.20 gram atom nitrogen per gram atom phosphorus and 1.93 to 3.15 pounds methanol per pound of orthophosphoric acid. The amount of reducing agent added should be sufficient to reduce all uranium to U(IV). Under these conditions, >99% the uranium is precipitated from the wet-process acid. About 90% of the phosphorus in the acid is recovered as purified phosphoric acid.
- Assignee:
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- Patent Number(s):
- US T970007
- OSTI ID:
- 6644454
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: Filed date 25 Mar 1977
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
URANIUM
PRECIPITATION
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
ALUMINIUM
AMMONIA
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
DISTILLATION
IRON
METHANOL
PHOSPHORIC ACID
ZINC
ACTINIDES
ALCOHOLS
ELEMENTS
EXTRACTION
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
METALS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
050400* - Nuclear Fuels- Feed Processing