Patent Number: 042658616
Section: description

The following example further illustrates this invention. EXAMPLE 1316 gms of calcium carbonate obtained from the precipitation of uranium recovery leach was dissolved in 1.54 liters of concentrated HCl. The pH was adjusted with the same calcium carbonate to 3. There were 854 gms of CaCO.sub.3 per liter of solution. The solution was filtered and contacted with 0.3 M DEPHA-0.075 M TOPA in kerosene in various ratios of organic to aqueous. The concentration of uranium in the initial solutions was 3.9 gms/l. The phases were permitted to separate and a sample of the CaCl.sub.2 solution was analyzed for uranium. The following results were obtained: ______________________________________ Uranium in Solution Organic-Aqueous After Extraction Uranium Ratio (gms/l) Extracted (%) ______________________________________ 0.5 0.0064 &gt;99 0.33 0.0063 &gt;99 0.25 0.053 98.6 ______________________________________ 0000 150 ml of the CaCl.sub.2 solution was contacted with 6.7 ml of a 2.5 M solution of ammonium sulfate and 17.4 ml of a 1 M solution of barium chloride. The precipitate was weighed and the radium remaining in a 40 ml sample of the solution was determined. The remaining solution was again contacted with 2.5 M ammonium sulfate and 1 M barium chloride and the procedure repeated. A third contact was also made. The following table gives the results: ______________________________________ Vol- Start- ume Final Weight Dila- ing of Volume of Vol- of Pre- tion Vol BaCl.sub.2 (NH.sub.4).sub.2 SO.sub.4 ume cipitate Fac- Radium (ml) (ml) (ml) (ml) (gms) tor (pici/l) ______________________________________ Feed -- -- -- -- -- 2.35 .times. 10.sup.5 150 17.4 6.98 174.38 8.986 1.16 1.49 .times. 10.sup.4 134 15.6 6.2 155.8 6.3699 1.35 500 .+-. 100 100 11.6 4.7 116.3 4.1977 1.57 100 ______________________________________ The dilution factor is the amount that the sample was diluted by the addition of the ammonium sulfate and barium chloride solutions. The table shows that the invention successfully reduced the level of radium in the solution to levels tolerable for release into the environment.