Electronic versions

  • J. T. M. Amphlett
    University of Manchester
  • Mark Ogden
    University of Sheffield
  • Richard I. Foster
    University of Manchester
  • Neilesh Syna
    Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
  • Karin Soldenhoff
    Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
  • Clint Sharrad
    University of Manchester
Three in-house produced polyamine functionalised ion exchange resins and Purolite S985 (a commercial ion exchange resin) have been assessed for their ability to extract UO22+ from a variety of aqueous matrices applicable to current and potential future uranium mining processes. The uptake of common contaminant species in uranium processing liquors at variable acid concentrations has been assessed, with Al3+ and MoO42− showing the most extraction, with AsO43−, Eu3+ and Fe3+ showing extractions >10% at low [H+]. Extraction of MoO42−, AsO43−, Eu3+ and Fe3+ was seen to decrease with increasing [H+]. The impact of increasing [Cl−] on UO22+ and Fe3+ extraction has been determined. Fe3+ showed low extractions by all resins, with no dependence on [Cl−]. In contrast, increasing suppression of UO22+ uptake was seen with increasing [Cl−] up to 80 g L−1, with extraction remaining constant beyond this [Cl−]. At high [Cl−] (>50 g L−1) Purolite S985 was seen to remove UO22+ from solution more effectively than all synthesised polyamine resins. The presence of Fe3+ in solution was seen to suppress UO22+ uptake by around 10% when [Fe3+]/[UO22+] increased from 0 to 2. Fe3+ extraction by all studied resins was promoted by the presence of UO22+ in solution. This was most prevalent with Purolite S985, with an extraction of 30% for [Fe3+]/[UO22+] = 2 by Purolite S985. All resins were tested using a process water from a uranium mine and have shown an ability to selectively extract UO22+ from such solutions, with the best synthetic resin recovering 15.7% more uranium than Purolite S985.

Keywords

  • Uranium, S985, Weak base, Saline, Ion exchange, Polyamine
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)633-640
Number of pages8
JournalChemical Engineering Journal
Volume354
Early online date31 Jul 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Dec 2018
Externally publishedYes
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