Separation of Radioactive Elements from Ethiopian Kenticha Pegmatite Ore by Hydrometallurgical Methods

The leaching and extraction behavior of uranium and thorium from a high-grade Ethiopian pegmatite ore in a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid has been investigated. The effects of variables such as the temperature, particle size, acid concentration, and leaching time were studied. The le...

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Main Authors: Cheru, M., del Rosario, A., Ali, A., Berhe, G., Tadesse, Bogale
Format: Journal Article
Published: Springer 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71397
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author Cheru, M.
del Rosario, A.
Ali, A.
Berhe, G.
Tadesse, Bogale
author_facet Cheru, M.
del Rosario, A.
Ali, A.
Berhe, G.
Tadesse, Bogale
author_sort Cheru, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The leaching and extraction behavior of uranium and thorium from a high-grade Ethiopian pegmatite ore in a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid has been investigated. The effects of variables such as the temperature, particle size, acid concentration, and leaching time were studied. The leaching efficiency of uranium increased with increasing temperature to 150°C, at which 96% removal of uranium was achieved. Particles in the size range of − 100 + 75 μm resulted in the highest leaching of uranium, while formation of a colloidal suspension was observed when using a fine particle size fraction (− 75 μm). The dissolution of uranium increased with increasing leaching time. No significant systematic dependence of the leachability of thorium on the above variables was observed. Optimum extraction of uranium and thorium using D2EHPA was obtained when using aqueous/organic phase volume ratio of 1:1, solvent concentration of 0.3 M, and contact time of 20 min.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2018
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-713972019-02-19T05:36:19Z Separation of Radioactive Elements from Ethiopian Kenticha Pegmatite Ore by Hydrometallurgical Methods Cheru, M. del Rosario, A. Ali, A. Berhe, G. Tadesse, Bogale The leaching and extraction behavior of uranium and thorium from a high-grade Ethiopian pegmatite ore in a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid has been investigated. The effects of variables such as the temperature, particle size, acid concentration, and leaching time were studied. The leaching efficiency of uranium increased with increasing temperature to 150°C, at which 96% removal of uranium was achieved. Particles in the size range of − 100 + 75 μm resulted in the highest leaching of uranium, while formation of a colloidal suspension was observed when using a fine particle size fraction (− 75 μm). The dissolution of uranium increased with increasing leaching time. No significant systematic dependence of the leachability of thorium on the above variables was observed. Optimum extraction of uranium and thorium using D2EHPA was obtained when using aqueous/organic phase volume ratio of 1:1, solvent concentration of 0.3 M, and contact time of 20 min. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71397 10.1007/s11837-018-3187-3 Springer restricted
spellingShingle Cheru, M.
del Rosario, A.
Ali, A.
Berhe, G.
Tadesse, Bogale
Separation of Radioactive Elements from Ethiopian Kenticha Pegmatite Ore by Hydrometallurgical Methods
title Separation of Radioactive Elements from Ethiopian Kenticha Pegmatite Ore by Hydrometallurgical Methods
title_full Separation of Radioactive Elements from Ethiopian Kenticha Pegmatite Ore by Hydrometallurgical Methods
title_fullStr Separation of Radioactive Elements from Ethiopian Kenticha Pegmatite Ore by Hydrometallurgical Methods
title_full_unstemmed Separation of Radioactive Elements from Ethiopian Kenticha Pegmatite Ore by Hydrometallurgical Methods
title_short Separation of Radioactive Elements from Ethiopian Kenticha Pegmatite Ore by Hydrometallurgical Methods
title_sort separation of radioactive elements from ethiopian kenticha pegmatite ore by hydrometallurgical methods
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71397