PROCESS FOR RECOVERING URANIUM

摘要

A process is described for the recovery or uranium from wet-process phosphoric acid utilizing an alkyl pyrophosphoric extractant. The extractant also contains a modifier for retaining the alkyl pyrophosphoric acid ester in solution in an essentially water-immiscible organic diluent during stripping. After extracting the uranium from wet-process acid, the APPA extractant is treated with an oxidizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide and the uranium stripped into an alkaline stripping solution. The alkaline stripping solution is an aqueous solution of an alkali metal or ammonium carbonate unsaturated in uranium. The barren extractant is recycled for contacting with fresh wet-process acid. Any ferric iron present is precipitated in the stripping solution and then separated from the solution. The uranium is precipitated, separated, dried and calcined to a U3O8 product.