Studying the Performance of Aminotrimethylenephosphonic Acid for the Removal of Iron with Subsequent Recovery of Uranium from Sulfate Leach Liquor

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of using aminotrimethylenephosphonic acid (ATMP) as a chelating agent to remove iron from Abu Zeneima sulfate leach liquor (AZSLL) and recover uranium as a result. Key parameters including pH, ATMP to sample volume ratio, contact time, and temperature were systematically examined to find the ideal conditions for iron removal. The findings revealed a remarkable selectivity in iron removal by precipitation with 0.05 M aminotrimethylenephosphonic acid (ATMP) per 10 mL of the sample: 90% of iron was precipitated, which is equivalent to approximately 20.5 mg, without adversely impacting uranium content. The iron amputation provided a favorable opportunity for the subsequent recovery of uranium, employing trioctylamine (TOA) as the extracting agent. TOA dissolved in benzene demonstrated efficiency in uranium recovery. The effect of the type of stripping solution, organic/aqueous phase volume ratio, contact time, and temperature on the uranium stripping was examined. Under the optimized conditions, with a maximum stripping efficiency of 98%, the uranium concentration in the resulting solution reached 451.58 mg/L.