Study on the effects of sonication on reactive precipitation of ammonium uranyl carbonate from pure uranyl nitrate solution

Abstract

• Effect of sonication on reactive precipitation of ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) from pure uranyl nitrate solution has been studied though 35kHz ultrasound horn • Sonication is found to improve precipitation kinetics of AUC by ∼30% • Enhancement of surface area and crystallinity has been observed in AUC powder prepared by sonochemical route compared to the conventional route • Morphological analysis revealed discrete, symmetrical and prismatic shaped regular crystal of AUC in sonochemical route compared to the conventional route In the present work, the influence of sonication on the reactive precipitation of ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) was investigated. Experiments were performed between uranyl nitrate pure solution (UNPS) and ammonium carbonate solution in a stirred vessel with ultrasound horn of 35 KHz. The prepared AUC powder was characterised by laser diffraction particle size analysis, surface area analysis, XRD, SEM, FTIR and Raman Spectroscopy. It was found that ultrasonic irradiation increases the precipitation kinetics and modifies the morphology of the crystals produced. The mean particle size was decreased with the increase in ultrasonic power and powders with more surface area are obtained at higher intensity ultrasound power. SEM study reveals more uniform and regular prismatic crystals of AUC during sonication compared to silent conditions. XRD results also indicate more crystalline powder of AUC in sonochemical mode compared to that prepared by conventional precipitation methods. Thus, the sonochemical technique suggested an improved quality of the precipitate of AUC in terms of physical morphology, surface area, crystallinity and homogeneity amenable for downstream process steps for the fuel preparation methods.