EXPERIMENTATION ON THE EXTRACTION OF URANIUM FROM WESTERN ORES. 1. PRESSURE DIGESTION TESTS WITH SODIUM CARBONATE AND SODIUM BICARBONATE. 2. PRECIPITATION TESTS

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Previous reports have described work on Colorado carnotites in which over 90% of the U and 15% of the V were extracted by boiling Na/sub 2/CO/sub 3/ solutions with alkali usages of 50 to 120 lbs/t of ore. The present report describes a number of tests in which leaching temperatures of 115 deg C and 125 deg C were tried. Equally good extractions were obtained at 115 deg C (10 psi) with about 30% less alkali than was required at 100 deg C. The tests at 125 deg C (30 psi) did not show any advantage over the 115 deg C tests. A 2-stage, countercurrent digestion at 115 deg C with a net soda ash usage of 60 lbs/t of ore gave an extraction of over 90% of the U. On an equal weight basis NaHCO/sub 3/ was not so effective as Na/sub 2/CO/sub 3/. The results of several precipitation tests are given. U precipitation was complete on acidifying the carbonate solution to a pH of 5.0. Further acidification to about a pH of 3.0 was necessary to completely procipitate the V. Precipitation of the U directly from the carbonate solution required a very large excess of NaOH (7.5 grams/grammore » of U/sub 3/O/sub 8/). (auth)« less

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