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Uranium recovery and purification from simulated waste streams containing high uranium concentrations with dispersion liquid membranes

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Abstract

The suitability of dispersion liquid membranes (DLMs) to recover and purify uranium from simulated waste streams containing nitric acid, high uranium concentrations and radionuclide contaminants with tributyl phosphate (TBP) and ammonium carbonate ((NH4)2CO3) as stripping solution was investigated. The radionuclide surrogates were not extracted and complete uranium recovery was obtained from 15 g U L−1 solutions using a 1:4 ratio of 30% TBP in kerosene and 0.75 M (NH4)2CO3 dispersion. In addition, all the uranium in the stripping solution was precipitated. Consequently, DLM proved to be a promising solvent extraction contacting method for uranium recovery and purification.

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Fig. 1

Adapted from Gabelman and Hwang [12] with permission from Elsevier

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Acknowledgements

This work is based on the research supported in part by Necsa and the South African National Research Foundation (NRF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Waste Research, Applied Chemistry, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Ltd (Necsa), Elias Motsoaledi Street, R104 Pelindaba, P.O. Box 582, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

    Maretha Fourie

  2. Chemical Resource Beneficiation, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa

    Derik Jacobus van der Westhuizen & Henning Manfred Krieg

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  1. Maretha Fourie
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Correspondence to Maretha Fourie.

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Fourie, M., van der Westhuizen, D.J. & Krieg, H.M. Uranium recovery and purification from simulated waste streams containing high uranium concentrations with dispersion liquid membranes. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 317, 355–366 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-5860-y

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