Studies are made of the laws that govern the heap leaching of stubborn uranium ores with regeneration of the oxidant – iron(III) ions – by iron-oxidizing microorganisms that have been concentrated by adsorptive immobilization on a solid neutral carrier material. The study results show how the amount of uranium recovered in solution, sulfuric-acid consumption, and the time of adsorption of the microorganisms on the ore depend on the concentration of iron in the solution, the coarseness of the ore, and the use of an immobilized biomass to regenerate the oxidant. The article demonstrates the advantages of biochemical heap leaching of stubborn uranium ore with oxidant regeneration by an immobilized biomass when compared to oxidant regeneration by chemical reagents or inoculation of the entire ore heap by microorganisms. The main advantages are the improvements that have been made in the efficiency and controllability of the process.
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Translated from Metallurg, No. 7, pp. 62–65, July, 2015.
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Hong, Z.Z. Laws Governing the Biochemical Heap Leaching of Low-Grade Uranium Ores with Regeneration of the Oxidant by an Immobilized Biomass. Metallurgist 59, 626–630 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11015-015-0149-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11015-015-0149-7