WO2014130209A1 - Continuous ion exchange process integrated with membrane separation for recovering uranium - Google Patents
Continuous ion exchange process integrated with membrane separation for recovering uranium Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2014130209A1 WO2014130209A1 PCT/US2014/013106 US2014013106W WO2014130209A1 WO 2014130209 A1 WO2014130209 A1 WO 2014130209A1 US 2014013106 W US2014013106 W US 2014013106W WO 2014130209 A1 WO2014130209 A1 WO 2014130209A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- solution
- uranium
- ion exchange
- produce
- leach
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
- C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
- C22B60/00—Obtaining metals of atomic number 87 or higher, i.e. radioactive metals
- C22B60/02—Obtaining thorium, uranium, or other actinides
- C22B60/0204—Obtaining thorium, uranium, or other actinides obtaining uranium
- C22B60/0217—Obtaining thorium, uranium, or other actinides obtaining uranium by wet processes
- C22B60/0252—Obtaining thorium, uranium, or other actinides obtaining uranium by wet processes treatment or purification of solutions or of liquors or of slurries
- C22B60/0265—Obtaining thorium, uranium, or other actinides obtaining uranium by wet processes treatment or purification of solutions or of liquors or of slurries extraction by solid resins
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
- C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
- C22B3/00—Extraction of metal compounds from ores or concentrates by wet processes
- C22B3/20—Treatment or purification of solutions, e.g. obtained by leaching
- C22B3/42—Treatment or purification of solutions, e.g. obtained by leaching by ion-exchange extraction
Definitions
- the present invention is directed toward a continuous ion exchange process for recovering uranium from pregnant liquor solutions.
- CIX Continuous ion exchange
- PLS pregnant liquor solutions
- the present invention includes a continuous ion exchange system and method for recovering uranium from a pregnant liquor solution that integrates the use of one or more membrane separations to reduce the concentration of competing anions.
- the method includes recovering uranium from an alkaline pregnant liquor solution including uranium, carbonate and chloride.
- the pregnant liquor solution is passed through a plurality of ion exchange beds (12, 14) resin that cycle through process zones as part of a repeating uranium recovery circuit.
- the method includes the steps of: (a) treating the pregnant liquor solution (16) with a membrane (28) to produce: i) a leach permeate solution (30) at least partially depleted of uranium and carbonate and ii) a leach concentrate solution (30') having a relatively higher concentration of uranium and carbonate and which is at least partially depleted of chloride; (b) passing the leach concentrate stream (30') through an ion exchange bed to load uranium onto a strong base anion exchange resin and produce an untreated barren (18) solution depleted of uranium, (c) passing an eluant solution (20) comprising bicarbonate through the loaded ion exchange bed to strip uranium from the strong base anion exchange resin and produce an eluate (22) comprising uranium and bicarbonate, (d) precipitating uranium (24) from the eluate (22) to produce a residual eluant solution (26) depleted of uranium, and (e) repeating steps (
- Figure 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the present continuous exchange system.
- the invention includes a system and method for recovering uranium from a pregnant liquor solution, ("PLS")-
- the source of the PLS is not particularly limited but is typically produced by heap leaching, in-situ leaching, vat leaching or pressure leaching of carbonate -containing uranium ores.
- the leach ores reside in a lixiviation tank from which the PLS is drawn.
- the PLS comprises an alkaline solution preferably having a pH of at least 9 and more preferably at least 10; and further includes uranium, bicarbonate, carbonate, sulfate and chloride anions along with their counter cations and corresponding salts. Even though the concentration of these anions is dynamic, they are preferably maintained within the following ranges: carbonate: 10-60 g/L;
- an eluant solution (e.g. from 50g/L to saturated aqueous bicarbonate solution) is passed through the uranium loaded ion exchange bed and exchanges eluant anions for uranium anions.
- the PLS is subject to continuous ion exchange (CIX) including the step of passing PLS through a plurality of ion exchange beds containing strong base anion exchange resin.
- the beds pass through individual process zones as part of a repeating uranium recovery circuit schematically illustrated in Figure 1. More specifically, a CIX unit is generally shown at 10 including a plurality of ion exchange beds (12, 14) containing a strong base anion exchange resin that sequentially pass through individual process zones (e.g. A, B) as part of a uranium recovery circuit.
- Each zone preferably includes at least one ion exchange bed or column, and in practice may include a plurality of individual beds.
- the method includes the following sequential steps:
- Processed uranium ore may be stored in a lixiviation tank (27) from which PLS is drawn.
- PLS and eluant may be maintained in tanks (16'), (20'), respectively.
- the tanks are in selective fluid communication with the ion exchange beds (12, 14). Fluid flow may be controlled by a plurality of values and a control panel (not shown) as the beds (12, 14) cycle through the individual process zones (A and B).
- CIX equipment for performing the subject method is available from PuriTech (e.g. IONEXTM), Ionex Separations and Calgon Carbon (e.g. ISEPTM) and is also described in US 7594951.
- Suitable ion exchange resins include AMBERSEPTM 400 strong base anion exchange resin available from The Dow Chemical Company.
- This resin includes a styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer (gel) matrix with functional quaternary ammonium groups.
- the resin may be initially provided in various ionic forms, e.g. sulfate, carbonate, hydroxyl and chloride.
- the PLS is treated with a membrane (28) to produce: i) a leach permeate solution (30) at least partially depleted of uranium and carbonate and ii) a leach concentrate solution (30') having a relatively higher concentration of uranium and carbonate and that is at least partially depleted in monovalent anions (e.g. chloride) as compared with the untreated PLS (16).
- the leach permeate solution (30) may be disposed or reused.
- the leach permeate solution (30) may be subject to further membrane treatment (not shown), e.g.
- the concentrate solution resulting from such a reverse osmosis treatment includes most of the remaining ionic species (e.g. chloride, sulfate) and can be disposed; whereas the permeate solution can be recycled and used in the lixiviation tank (27) to replace evaporative loss, used to make fresh bicarbonate solution added to the lixiviation tank (27), or used to dilute the PLS (16) or leach concentrate solution (30').
- a reverse osmosis membrane e.g. FILMTECTM XLE-440.
- the leach concentrate solution (30') (and optional blended PLS (16)) is passed through an ion exchange bed (12) to load uranium onto the strong base anion resin and produce an untreated barren solution (18) depleted of uranium.
- the untreated barren solution (18) may be disposed of, recycled back to the lixiviation tank (27), or in a preferred embodiment, subject to further treatment with a membrane (31).
- all or a portion of the untreated barren solution (18) may be treated with a membrane (31) to produce: i) a barren permeate solution (32) at least partially depleted of carbonate (and other anions optionally including sulphate and chloride) and ii) a barren concentrate solution (32') having a relatively higher concentration of carbonate.
- the barren permeate solution (32) may be optionally recycled to (i.e. combined with) the PLS (16) or leach concentrate solution (30') for use in the loading phase of the process.
- the barren concentrate solution (32') may be optionally disposed (34) or recycled, e.g. all or a portion may be recycled to the lixiviation tank (27).
- the barren concentrate solution (32') is subject to further membrane treatment (not shown), e.g. with a reverse osmosis membrane with the resulting permeate being used in the lixiviation tank (27) to replace evaporative loss, used to make fresh bicarbonate solution added to the lixiviation tank (27), or used to dilute the PLS (16) or leach concentrate solution (30').
- further membrane treatment e.g. with a reverse osmosis membrane with the resulting permeate being used in the lixiviation tank (27) to replace evaporative loss, used to make fresh bicarbonate solution added to the lixiviation tank (27), or used to dilute the PLS (16) or leach concentrate solution (30').
- the eluant solution (20) passes through the uranium loaded ion exchange bed(s) (zone B) to strip uranium from the ion exchange resin and produce an eluate (22).
- the eluate (22) may be then treated to precipitate out uranium (24) leaving a residual eluate solution (26).
- the eluate may be neutralized with sulfuric acid and uranium can be precipitated with hydrogen peroxide.
- the resulting residual eluate solution (26) includes sodium sulfate along with carbonate/bicarbonate. This residual eluate solution (26) may then be disposed of, recycled to the lixiviation tank (27) or preferably subject to further membrane treatment.
- the residual eluate solution (26) may be treated with a membrane (38) to produce: i) a residual eluate permeate solution (40) at least partially depleted of bicarbonate (and uranium) and ii) a residual eluate concentrate solution (42) having a relatively higher concentration of bicarbonate (and uranium) than the residual eluate solution (26).
- the residual eluate concentrate solution (42) can be recycled directly to the lixiviation tank (27) the PLS (16) or the leach concentrate solution (30').
- the residual eluate permeate solution (40) may be disposed, or further treated with membranes (not shown).
- the residual eluate permeate solution (40) may be further treated with a reverse osmosis membrane (e.g. FILMTECTM XLE-440 or FILMTECTM BW30 XFR-400/34i or FILMTECTM XFRLE-400/34 available from The Dow Chemical Company.
- a reverse osmosis membrane e.g. FILMTECTM XLE-440 or FILMTECTM BW30 XFR-400/34i or FILMTECTM XFRLE-400/34 available from The Dow Chemical Company.
- This treatment creates a second permeate solution that is depleted of almost all ions (e.g. over 98% rejection of chloride) and a second concentrate solution including most of the ions and salts that were present in the residual eluate permeate solution (40).
- This second permeate solution can be recycled to the lixiviation tank (27), used to prepare fresh bicarbonate solution for addition to the lixiviation tank (27) or for diluting the PLS (16) or leach concentrate solution (30').
- the second concentrate solution can be disposed.
- Applicable membranes include nanoiiltration and reverse osmosis elements such as FILMTECTM NF90 and NF 270, FILMTECTM XLE-440 or FILMTECTM BW30 XFR-400/34i or FILMTECTM XFRLE-400/34 available from The Dow Chemical Company.
- nanoiiltration and reverse osmosis elements such as FILMTECTM NF90 and NF 270, FILMTECTM XLE-440 or FILMTECTM BW30 XFR-400/34i or FILMTECTM XFRLE-400/34 available from The Dow Chemical Company.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CA2900905A CA2900905A1 (en) | 2013-02-21 | 2014-01-27 | Continuous ion exchange process integrated with membrane separation for recovering uranium |
US14/760,377 US20150354027A1 (en) | 2013-02-21 | 2014-01-27 | Continuous ion exchange process integrated with membrane separation for recovering uranium |
AU2014219373A AU2014219373A1 (en) | 2013-02-21 | 2014-01-27 | Continuous ion exchange process integrated with membrane separation for recovering uranium |
RU2015139681A RU2015139681A (en) | 2013-02-21 | 2014-01-27 | CONTINUOUS ION EXCHANGE PROCESS UNITED WITH MEMBRANE SEPARATION FOR URANIUM EXTRACTION |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US201361767286P | 2013-02-21 | 2013-02-21 | |
US61/767,286 | 2013-02-21 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2014130209A1 true WO2014130209A1 (en) | 2014-08-28 |
Family
ID=50151369
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2014/013106 WO2014130209A1 (en) | 2013-02-21 | 2014-01-27 | Continuous ion exchange process integrated with membrane separation for recovering uranium |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20150354027A1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2014219373A1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2900905A1 (en) |
RU (1) | RU2015139681A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2014130209A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN109987676A (en) * | 2017-12-29 | 2019-07-09 | 新疆中核天山铀业有限公司 | Soak the application method that adsorption tower is recycled in mine uranium hydrometallurgy treatment process in ground |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN112680606B (en) * | 2020-12-16 | 2022-10-21 | 核工业北京化工冶金研究院 | Ion exchange method for gas generation in uranium extraction process |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4312838A (en) * | 1979-08-27 | 1982-01-26 | Mobil Oil Corporation | Ion exchange resins of high loading capacity, high chloride tolerance and rapid elution for uranium recovery |
US4316800A (en) * | 1979-02-21 | 1982-02-23 | Uranerz U.S.A. Inc | Recovery of uranium from enriched solution by a membrane separation process |
US4410497A (en) * | 1982-01-26 | 1983-10-18 | Mobil Oil Corporation | Separation of uranium from carbonate containing solutions thereof by direct precipitation |
US7594951B2 (en) | 2005-12-07 | 2009-09-29 | Gordon Rossiter | Process for engineered ion exchange recovery of copper and nickel |
WO2011132138A1 (en) * | 2010-04-19 | 2011-10-27 | Andrew Bassil | Industrial extraction of uranium using ammonium carbonate and membrane separation |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR1193092A (en) * | 1958-03-06 | 1959-10-30 | Commissariat Energie Atomique | Process for the treatment and recycling of alkaline liquors from alkaline treatments of uranium ores |
FR1373734A (en) * | 1963-07-11 | 1964-10-02 | Comvissariat A L En Atomique | Uranium elution process and its application to ion exchange in an alkaline medium |
-
2014
- 2014-01-27 US US14/760,377 patent/US20150354027A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2014-01-27 CA CA2900905A patent/CA2900905A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2014-01-27 RU RU2015139681A patent/RU2015139681A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2014-01-27 WO PCT/US2014/013106 patent/WO2014130209A1/en active Application Filing
- 2014-01-27 AU AU2014219373A patent/AU2014219373A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4316800A (en) * | 1979-02-21 | 1982-02-23 | Uranerz U.S.A. Inc | Recovery of uranium from enriched solution by a membrane separation process |
US4312838A (en) * | 1979-08-27 | 1982-01-26 | Mobil Oil Corporation | Ion exchange resins of high loading capacity, high chloride tolerance and rapid elution for uranium recovery |
US4410497A (en) * | 1982-01-26 | 1983-10-18 | Mobil Oil Corporation | Separation of uranium from carbonate containing solutions thereof by direct precipitation |
US7594951B2 (en) | 2005-12-07 | 2009-09-29 | Gordon Rossiter | Process for engineered ion exchange recovery of copper and nickel |
WO2011132138A1 (en) * | 2010-04-19 | 2011-10-27 | Andrew Bassil | Industrial extraction of uranium using ammonium carbonate and membrane separation |
Non-Patent Citations (2)
Title |
---|
ANTON R. HENDRIKSZ; RONALD R. MCGREGOR: "The extraction of uranium from in-situ leach solutions using NIMCIX ion exchange contactor", ANNUAL URANIUM SEMINAR (PROCEEDINGS, 1980, pages 121 - 124, XP009178927 |
EMMANUEL J. ZAGANIARIS: "Ion Exchange Resins in Uranium Hydrometallurgy", 1 May 2009, BOOKS ON DEMAND GMBH, Paris, ISBN: 9782810601882, XP002727545 * |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN109987676A (en) * | 2017-12-29 | 2019-07-09 | 新疆中核天山铀业有限公司 | Soak the application method that adsorption tower is recycled in mine uranium hydrometallurgy treatment process in ground |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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US20150354027A1 (en) | 2015-12-10 |
AU2014219373A1 (en) | 2015-09-17 |
CA2900905A1 (en) | 2014-08-28 |
RU2015139681A (en) | 2017-03-24 |
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