Thorium leaching

The separation of basic precipitates of hydrous Th02 from the lanthanides in monazite sands has been outlined in Fig. 30.1 (p. 1230). These precipitates may then be dissolved in nitric acid and the thorium extracted into tributyl phosphate, (Bu"0)3PO, diluted with kerosene. In the case of Canadian production, the uranium ores are leached with sulfuric acid and the anionic sulfato complex of U preferentially absorbed onto an anion exchange resin. The Th is separated from Fe, A1 and other metals in the liquor by solvent extraction. 

Eyal Y, Olander DR (1990) Leaching of uraitium and thorium from monazite 1. Initial leaching. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 54 1867-1877... 

Measurements of " Th in sediment samples (Aller and Cochran 1976 Cochran and Aller 1979) used much the same approach as outlined above. In this case, the dried sediment sample ( 10 g) was leached with strong mineral acid (HCl) in the presence of a yield monitor (generally Th, an artificial Th isotope resulting from the decay of Th that is produced by neutron capture on Th). Thorium was separated from U and purified by ion exchange chromatography, and electrodeposited onto stainless steel planchets. Counting and determination of " Th activity followed the procedure outlined above. 

In most uranium ores the element is present in several, usually many diverse minerals. Some of these dissolve in sulfuric acid solutions under mild conditions, while others may require more aggressive conditions. Thus, while it may be comfortable to recover 90-95% of the uranium present, it may be tough or impractical to win the balance amount of a few percent economically. Some of the most difficult uranium minerals to leach are those of the multiple oxide variety, most commonly brannerite and davidite. These usually have U(IV) as well as U(VI), together with a number of other elements such as titanium, iron, vanadium, thorium, and rare earths. To extract uranium from these sources is not as easy as other relatively simpler commonly occurring sources. 

Thorium is widely but rather sparsely distributed its only commercial sources are monazite (together with the rare earths) and uranothorite (a mixed Th, U silicate). Uranium is surprisingly common and more abundant than mercury, silver or cadmium in the earth s crust. It is widely distributed and it is found scattered in the faults of old igneous rocks. Concentration by leaching followed by re-precipitation has produced a number of oxide minerals of which the most important are uranite (also called pitchblende) U308 and carnotite, K UC HVO -SF O. 

Hodge HC, Maynard EA, Leach LJ. 1960. The chemical toxicity of thorium dioxide following inhalation by laboratory animals. University of Rochester Atomic Energy Project. Report UR-562. University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 1-33. 

The vendor claims that the technology will treat uranium and possibly thorium. At this point, the technology has only been bench tested. The vendor hopes, however, that once the heap leaching technology is fully developed, it will be used to remove metals chemically (uranium in this case) from soil without damaging the soil. With some modification, the process can also be used to remove volatile organic compounds from soil by ex situ soil venting. 

Calcium serves as a reductant for such reactive metals as zirconium, thorium, vanadium, and uranium. In zirconium reduction, zirconium fluoride is reacted with culcium metal. The high heat of the reaction melts the zirconium. The zirconium ingot resulting is remelted undet vacuum for purilicatinn. Thorium and uranium oxides are reduced with an excess of calcium in reactors or trays under an atmosphere of argon. The resulting tnetals are leached with acetic acid tu remove the lime. 

The alkyl amines offer greater selectivity than organophosphorus compounds in many applications, particularly in uranium hydrometallurgy. Amine extraction is typified by the Amex process, which uses a tertiary or branched secondary amine to extract uranium from sulfate leach liquors (11). A similar process based on the use of a primary or straight-chain secondary amine (sometimes modified with an organic-soluble alcohol) has given good results in thorium recovery (12). 

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