AGITATION LEACHING OF URANIUM FROM THE MICHURINSK DEPOSIT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15421/jchemtech.v33i1.325237Keywords:
Acid leaching, Uranium, Ferrous sulfate, Titanium white waste acid, oxidantAbstract
This research is dedicated to the investigation of agitation leaching of uranium ore from the Michurinsk deposit at 75 °C and atmospheric pressure, with the addition of ferric sulfate as a uranium oxidant in the composition of oxidized titanium white waste acid from titanium dioxide pigment production. It has been demonstrated that ferrous sulfate in titanium white waste acid solutions is quantitatively oxidized by oxygen to ferric sulfate in a gas-liquid reactor with mechanical agitation, using nitrogen compound-based catalysts within a time frame acceptable for the technological process. Replacing up to 40 % of sulfuric acid in uranium acid leaching solutions with oxidized titanium white waste acid allows for an increase in uranium extraction from 76 % to 88% at an Sol : Liq ratio of 1 : 1 and a total acid consumption of 90 kg/t of ore. The maximum uranium extraction corresponds to a leach filtrate concentration ratio of C(Fe³⁺)/C(Fe²⁺) ≥ 1. The use of counter-current agitation leaching in multiple stages can further enhance uranium extraction from refractory ore to above 90 %. However, substituting more than 40 % of sulfuric acid with oxidized titanium white waste acid leads to a decrease in uranium extraction due to the negative impact of impurities present in the waste acid. Increasing the consumption of sulfuric acid doped with oxidized titanium white waste acid to 110 kg/t of ore does not result in further uranium extraction improvement. The addition of oxidized titanium white waste acid in agitation leaching ensures a high level of uranium extraction from refractory ores. A final conclusion regarding the feasibility of implementing this approach in uranium concentrate production requires further investigation into the impact of impurities introduced with titanium white waste acid on other stages of the technological process.
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