Batch adsorption study of uranium on various ion exchange resins as an alternative method to solvent extraction

Abstract

The project is aimed at recovering uranium from scrap material containing useful amounts of Low Enriched Uranium. The common method of recovering uranium is by using acidic or alkaline medium for dissolution, followed by solvent extraction using tributyl phosphate in kerosene. However the normal challenge with solvent extraction is the generation of enormous liquid waste which is slightly radioactive. Therefore in this project we studied the adsorption of uranium on various ion exchange resins in order to use it as an alternative method to solvent extraction. Uranium solution from the scrap materials was used, and different ion exchange resins such as Amberjet 1600 H, PPC100H, Purolite S940 and S950 chelation resin, and Purolite A500 were tested under various conditions for the adsorption of uranium. The strong acid cation resins show no selectivity between the uranium and aluminium species, both species were fully adsorbed irrespective of the pH. The strong base anion resins had good uranium adsorption attaining 100%, they also show a pH effect for the aluminium adsorption. The use of ion exchange resins, especially with anion resins showed promising results and potential for use as an alternative to solvent extraction.