Uranium Recovery Corporation

Unc Recovery Corporation

Donald A Luke

Ralph E Worthington

Alex Magdics

Stanton L Reese

Sandra L Paris

Uranium in wet-process phosphoric acid in the tetravalent state is extracted with an alkylphenyl acid phosphate extractant. The uranium in the pregnant extractant is then oxidized to the hexavalent state and stripped with a phosphoric acid stripping solution. Hydrolysis of the extractant is decreased by decreasing the proton concentration of the extractant which results from acidic impurities, e.g., sulfuric acid and fluorosilicic acid, originally present in the wet-process phosphoric acid. The proton concentration of the extractant is reduced indirectly by treating the phosphoric acid strip solution (1) with reagents which react with the acidic impurities to form water and an insoluble precipitate which is removed from the stripping solution; (2) with reagents to neutralize the acidic impurities in the stripping solution; or (3) by passing the stripping solution through a suitable ion exchange column.

Deprotonation of an alkylphenyl acid phosphate extractant

The solid organic materials contained in wet-process phosphoric acid are removed by froth flotation in a flotation cell in which the solid organic materials overflow with the foam from the top of the cell and the acid, after passing through the cell, is passed to extraction. The froth flotation process can also be used to remove defoamer and organic soluble materials from the wet-process phosphoric acid. Uranium in the partially purified phosphoric acid product is extracted with a suitable organic extractant, typically a mixture of mono- and di-(alkylphenyl) esters of orthophosphoric acid.

Growing community of inventors

Temple Terrace, FL, United States of America

Donald A Luke