Study on Electrolytic Recoveries of Carbonate Salt and Uranium from a Uranyl Peroxo Carbonato Complex Solution Generated from a Carbonate-Leaching Process

Abstract

This work studied an electrolytic decarbonation by using an electrolytic system consisting of a cation exchange membrane-equipped cell and a gas absorber for simultaneous recoveries of carbonate salt and uranium from a uranium-bearing carbonate solution generated from a uranium leaching process using carbonate and hydrogen peroxide. The system was effective for the recoveries of carbonate salt and uranium as a precipitate of uranium peroxide hydrate from the solution and for a treatment of the residual hydrogen peroxide in the solution. The existence of uranium and hydrogen peroxide in a carbonate solution did not affect the electrolytic recovery characteristics of the carbonate salt from the solution. The behavior of the voltage or current during the electrolysis in the system could be explained by the characteristics of change of the species generated depending on the pH in the anodic and cathodic chambers. In the system, the constant current operation was better than the constant voltage operation from the energy consumption point of view. The electrolytic method used in this work for the recovery of carbonate salt from a carbonate-leaching solution containing uranium was evaluated to be environmentally friendly because it could minimize the generation of secondary wastes.