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AssigneeFreeport Minerals Corporation
InventorsTadeusz K. Wiewiorowski, Willis L. Thornsberry, Jr.
Estimating the term…
Process for the recovery of uranium from wet process phosphoric acid solution in which an organic extractant, containing uranium values and dissolved iron impurities and comprising a dialkylphosphoric acid and a trialkylphosphine oxide dissolved in a water immiscible organic solvent, is contacted with a substantially iron-free dilute aqueous phosphoric acid to remove said iron impurities. The removed impurities are bled from the system by feeding the resulting iron-loaded phosphoric acid to a secondary countercurrent uranium extraction operation from which they leave as part of the uranium-depleted acid raffinate. Also, process for recovering uranium in which the extractant, after it has been stripped of uranium values by aqueous ammonium carbonate, is contacted with a dilute aqueous acid selected from the group consisting of H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, HCl, HNO.sub.3 and iron-free H.sub.3 PO.sub.4 to improve the extraction efficiency of the organic extractant.
Process for removing iron from an extractant containing uranium values and comprising a dialkylphosphoric acid and a trialkylphosphine oxide dissolved in a water-immiscible organic solvent and having dissolved therein trivalent iron which comprises contacting said extractant with dilute aqueous phosphoric acid containing less than 0.3% by weight of iron at least once to transfer said trivalent iron to said dilute aqueous phosphoric acid and disengaging the dilute aqueous phosphoric acid containing the transferred trivalent iron from said extractant.
A process for the recovery of uranium from a wet process phosphoric acid solution derived from the acidulation of uraniferous phosphate ores which comprises
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.