Doryokuro Kakunenryo Kaihatsu Jigyodan

Unitika Ltd.

Keiichiro Otomura

Yoshiaki Echigo

Tadashi Ishikura

Mutsunori Yamao

Yoshikazu Ogura

Hideto Obara

Shozo Tomoshige

Kozo Kondo

Hideo Miki

Setsuo Kanemitsu

Shigetoshi Nakabayashi

Hirotaka Amimoto

Sakae Fujisaki

Takayuki Yamashita

Soichiro Yano

A process for preparing uranium tetrafluoride by reacting a uranous solution with a hydrofluoric acid solution in a fluorination precipitation tank is provided. A cylindrical inner tube having upper and lower ends opened is disposed in the tank in the longitudinal direction thereof. An agitator is arranged within the inner tube to generate a descending or ascending stream inside the inner tube and a ascending or descending stream outside the inner tube, thereby producing a circulation of reaction liquor in the tank. The uranous solution and the hydrofluoric acid solution are introduced into the tank from the upper part thereof and the produced uranium tetrafluoride crystals are withdrawn from the lower part of the tank together with a part of the reaction mother liquor. The amount of the hydrofluoric acid solution added to the uranous solution is adjusted so that the fluorine concentration in the reaction mother liquor in the tank is maintained at 2 to 4 g/l.

Process for preparation of uranium tetrafluoride

The present invention provides a process for producing a uranium oxide by dissolving a yellow cake in sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid, bringing the obtained solution into contact with a chelating resin of diaminocarboxylic acid type and subjecting the product to neutralizing precipitation followed by heat treatment. By the contact of the solution with the chelating resin, iron, copper, molybdenum and vanadium among the metallic impurities are removed and in the subsequent neutralizing precipitation step, other metallic impurities such as aluminum, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium are removed. This process can easily produce uranium oxide having a high purity using a simple apparatus.

Process for producing uranium oxides

A process for treating a waste water containing uranium and fluorine comprises a neutralizing precipitation step wherein slaked lime is added to the waste water containing uranium and fluorine and precipitate thus formed in separated and removed, and an adsorption step wherein supernatant from the neutralizing precipitation step is contacted with a chelating resin which can selectively adsorb fluorine ions and another chelating resin which can selectively adsorb uranyl ions to thereby adsorb and remove the fluorine and uranyl ions remaining in the supernatant. Eluates of the ions adsorbed by the chelating resins and waste liquors for washing and regeneration of these resins are returned to the neutralizing precipitation step. Prior to the neutralizing precipitation step, a decarbonation step may be provided for decomposing carbonate ions, if they are contained in the waste water to be treated.

Process for treating waste water containing uranium and fluorine

A process for separately recovering uranium and hydrofluoric acid from a waste liquor containing uranium and fluorine comprises a neutralizing precipitation step wherein a magnesium compound is added to the waste liquor containing uranium and fluorine to form a precipitate and the thus formed precipitate is then separated; a distillation step wherein an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid is added to the precipitate separated in said neutralizing precipitation step to dissolve the precipitate and the thus formed solution is then distilled to recover hydrofluoric acid as a distillate; and a uranium recovery step wherein uranium is recovered from a residue produced by said distillation step.

Process for separately recovering uranium and hydrofluoric acid from

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Kurayoshi, Japan

Keiichiro Otomura