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Uranium Processing Presentation
Uranium Processing Presentation
URANIUM
Prepared by
Muhammad Badar Hayat
PhD Student
Mining & Nuclear Engineering Department
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Assistant Professor
UET Lahore
Pakistan
PRESENTATION LAYOUT
• Introduction
• Uranium bearing ore minerals
• Ore preparation
• Leaching process
• Solid liquid separation
• Solution purification
• Product recovery
• Enrichment
• Fabrication
• Environmental concerns
INTRODUCTION
• Primary sources
• At the present time, there are only three known primary uranium ore
minerals
1. Uraninite (combined UO2and UO3; 50-85 percent U 308)
2. Pitchblende
3. Davidite (rare earth-iron-titanium oxide; 7-10 percent U 3O8)
Sourcedddd
URANIUM BEARING ORES
• Secondary sources
1. Carnotite: (K2O.2UO3.V2O5.nH2O; 50-55% U3O8)
2. Tyuyamunite: (CaO.2UO3.V2O5.nH2O; 48-55% U3O8)
3. Torbernite & Meta-torbernite: (CuO.2UO3.P2O5.nH2O;60% U3O8)
4. Autunite & Meta-autunite: (CaO.2UO3.P2O5.nH2O; 60% U3O8)
5. Uranophane: (CaO.2UO3.2SiO2.6H2O; 65% U3O8)
etc………
PROCESSING FLOW CHART
PROCESSING FLOW CHART
Mine Drying/Calcining
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
ORE PREPARATION
• Benefication
• The beneficiation of uranium ores prior to leaching will probably be
undertaken with one, or all three of the following objectives in mind:
1. To enhance the feed grade
2. To remove minerals that will probably prove deleterious in the uranium
leaching and/or recovery stages
3. To produce clean tailings
ORE PREPARATION
• Radiometric sorting
• The fact that uranium ore emits natural radiation gives a unique
opportunity for the detection and subsequent separation of uranium
bearing rock from barren gangue.
ORE PREPARATION
• Optical properties
• Differentiates between opaque, uranium bearing particles and
translucent grains of quartz or quartzite.
ORE PREPARATION
Magnetic separation
• Some uranium bearing minerals are amenable to magnetic separation.
• Example rinkolite, which has a moderate magnetic susceptibility.
ORE PREPARATION
Flotation
• separates objectionable constituents, such as sulphides, carbonates and
carbonaceous minerals, from the mill feed
Mine Drying/Calcining
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
LEACHING
After selection of the reagent the next major decision is the choice of the
leaching system. The following five techniques are available:
(1) Agitation leaching at atmospheric pressure (acid and alkaline),
(2) Pressure leaching (acid and alkaline),
(3) Strong acid pugging and curing (acid),
(4) Heap leaching (acid),
(5) In situ leaching (mainly alkaline).
LEACHING
Where low grade ore is involved, the more modest capital and operating
requirements of a heap leaching operation give it an economic advantage
over conventional leaching routes, in particular where bacterial action and
in situ sulphide minerals can be used to provide a degree of autolixiviation.
LEACHING
Agitation Leaching
LEACHING
Pressure Leaching
Acid pressure leaching is applied to refractory complex ore types that
cannot
be economically treated under standard atmospheric agitation leaching
conditions..
LEACHING
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
SOLID LIQUID SEPARATION
Thickening
Thickening, as applied in uranium processing, can be defined as removing a
portion of the liquid from a slurry by allowing the solids to settle under the
influence of gravity in some form of sedimentation vessel
SOLID LIQUID SEPARATION
SOLID LIQUID SEPARATION
SOLID LIQUID SEPARATION
Filtration
The process of separating solids from liquids by a porous medium that
retains the solids but allows the liquid to pass.
SOLID LIQUID SEPARATION
SOLID LIQUID SEPARATION
Flocculation
• The first effective flocculants used in uranium milling operations were
guar gum products, replaced by the polyacrylamide flocculants
(Separan Aerofloc, etc.), wh.ich have since become standard in the
industry
Mine Drying/Calcining
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
SOLUTION PURIFICATION
Ion Exchange
SOLUTION PURIFICATION
uranyl bisulphate
uranyl trisulphate
uranyl bicarbonate
uranyl tricarbonate
• Ion exchange resins function both to concentrate and purify the uranyl
anionic complexes. Ideally, a resin will absorb these complexes
selectively from leach solutions containing many other anionic
complexes.
ION EXCHANGE RESIN
SOLUTION PURIFICATION
Solvent Extraction
SOLUTION PURIFICATION
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
PRODUCT RECOVERY
Precipitation
The most commonly used method has been the use of
ammoniumhydroxide, and in recent years the adoption of MgO
precipitation, where environmental constraints may not permit the use of
ammonia
PRODUCT RECOVERY
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
DRYING AND CALCINING
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
YELLOW CAKE
• The compositions were variable and depended upon the leachant and
subsequent precipitating conditions.
• Among the compounds identified in yellowcakes include: uranyl
hydroxide, uranyl sulfate, sodium para-uranate, and uranyl peroxide,
along with various uranium oxides.
• Modern yellowcake typically contains 70 to 90 percent triuranium
octoxide (U3O8) by weight.
• Other oxides such as uranium dioxide (UO2) and uranium trioxide
(UO3) exist.
YELLOW CAKE
Mine Drying/Calcining
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
ENRICHMENT
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
FABRICATION
Uranium ore
Yellow cake
Benefication Enrichment
Leaching
Solution purification
Ion Exchange/Solvent extraction
Nuclear
Product recovery power plant
Precipitation
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
• Direct radiation
• Dust particles
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS