Characterization of Molybdenum Interfacial Crud in a Uranium Mill That Employs Tertiary-Amine Solvent Extraction

摘要

In the present work, samples of a molybdenum-caused green gummy interfacial crud from an operating western US uranium mill have been physically and chemically examined. Formaton of cruds of this description has been a long-standing problem in the use of tertiary amine solvent extraction for the recovery of uranium from low-grade ores (Amex Process). The crud is essentially an organic-continuous dispersion containing about 10 wt % aqueous droplets and about 37 wt % greenish-yellow crystalline solids suspended in kerosene-amine process solvent. The greenish-yellow crystals were found to be a previously unknown double salt of tertiary amine molybdophosphate with three tertiary amine chlorides having the empirical formula (R sub 3 NH) sub 3 (PMo sub 12 O sub 40 ).3(R sub 3 NH)Cl. To confirm the identification of the compound, a pure trioctylamine (TOA) analog was synthesized. In laboratory extraction experiments, it was demonstrated that organic-soluble amine molydophosphate forms slowly upon contact of TOA solvent with dilute sulfuric acid solutions containing low concentrations of molybdate and phosphate. If the organic solutions of amine molybdophosphate were then contacted with aqueous NaCl solutions, a greenish-yellow precipitate of (TOAH) sub 3 (PMo sub 12 O sub 40 ).3(TOAH)Cl formed at the interface. The proposed mechanism for the formation of the crud under process conditions involves build up of molybdenum in the solvent, followed by reaction with extracted phosphate to give dissolved amine molybdophosphate. The amine molybdophosphate then co-crystallizes with amine chloride, formed during the stripping cycle, to give the insoluble double salt, which precipitates as a layer of small particles at the interface. The proposed solution to the problem is the use of branched-chain, instead of straight-chain, tertiary amine extractants under the expectation that branching would increase the solubility of the double salt. 2 figures, 5 tables. (ERA citation 08:029104)