Leaching methodologies for uranium

Abstract

The science and technology for the separation/recovery of uranium from its natural sources into the form of high grade concentrates has been studied many years. Since three decades the uranium industry has undergone a remarkable series of transformations. The metal place a important peaceful role as a fuel for generation of electrical energy. Leaching procedures selected for dissolving the uranium from ore are dependent in part on physical characteristics of the ore. Acid leaching refers to the use of sulphuric acid as the lixiviant in all common practice. Nitric acid has strong oxidizing properties but is much more expensive than sulphuric acid. Hydrochloric acid is used for leaching process employing the salt roaster gases. Ferric chloride, sulphate and carbonate/bicarbonates have also been proposed as leachants many of the uranium leaching process. The present research review paper focusing on brief discussion on leaching methodologies such as acid, carbonate, heap and in-situ leaching process for uranium hydrometallurgical treatments from reported literature was presented.