Uranium recovery from Uro area phosphate ore, Nuba Mountains, Sudan

Abstract

This study was carried out in a laboratory scale to recover uranium from Uro area phosphate ore in the eastern part of Nuba Mountains in Sudan. Phosphate ore samples were collected, and analyzed for uranium abundance. The results showed that the samples contain a significant concentration of uranium with an average of 310.3 μg/g, which is 2.6 times higher than the world average of phosphate. The green phosphoric acid obtained from the samples was found to contain uranium in the range of 186–2049 μg/g, with an average of 603.3 μg/g, and about 98% of uranium content of the phosphate ore was rendered soluble in the phosphoric acid. An extraction process using 25% tributylphosphate, followed by stripping process using 0.5 M sodium carbonate reported that more than 98% of uranium in the green phosphoric acid exists as uranyl tricarbonate complex, moreover, sodic decomposition using 50% sodium hydroxide showed that about 98% of the uranium was precipitated as sodium diuranate concentrate that is known as the yellow cake (Na2U2O7). Further purification and calcinations of the yellow cake led to the formation of the orange powder of uranium trioxide (UO3). The chemical analysis of the obtained uranium concentrates; yellow cake and uranium trioxide proved their nuclear purity and that they meet the standard commercial specification. The obtained results proved that uranium from Uro phosphate ore was successfully recovered as uranium trioxide with an overall recovery percentage of 93%.

Keywords

• Uranium recovery
• Yellow cake
• Uranium trioxide
• Multivariate analysis
• Sudan