Scoping studies on recovery of uranium from a man-made ore

Conference · Sat Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983 · Prepr., Soc. Min. Eng. AIME; (United States)

OSTI ID:6141089

Miller, R L

The potential for recovery of enriched uranium from spent nuclear fuel which has been consolidated into a nuclear waste form is reported in these studies. The waste form of interest is iron-enriched basalt (IEB), a silicate-based, fused-cast ceramic. From the results of the scoping tests reported here suggest that there is little difference in the two samples taken in terms of recovery of uranium. It is also suggested that the ore can be ''opened'' and the uranium recovered by either a sodium hydroxide fusion or sulfuric acid leaching. The sodium hydroxide fusion method gave the best recovery but requires the most energy and has the greatest operational complexity. The sulfuric acid/hydrogen peroxide leach gave intermediate results but is easier to handle.

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, Idaho
• OSTI ID: 6141089
• Report Number(s): CONF-831009-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Prepr., Soc. Min. Eng. AIME; (United States) Journal Volume: 83-338
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ACTINIDES
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
BASALT
CERAMICS
CHALCOGENIDES
DISSOLUTION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FUELS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXIDES
IGNEOUS ROCKS
INORGANIC ACIDS
LEACHING
MATERIALS
MELTING
METALS
MINERALS
NUCLEAR FUELS
OXIDE MINERALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
REACTOR MATERIALS
RECOVERY
ROCKS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SILICA
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SODIUM HYDROXIDES
SPENT FUELS
SULFURIC ACID
URANIUM
VOLCANIC ROCKS
WASTE FORMS