A STUDY OF URANIUM AND P2O5 TRANSFER IN SYRIAN PHOSPHATE LEACHING BY COMMERCIAL NITRIC AND HYDROCHLORIC ACIDS.

This paper reports a study of leaching of uranium and P2O5 from Syrian phosphate using commercial nitric and hydrochloric acids. The effect of different parameters such as the liquid:solid ratio, the acid concentration, the leaching time and the reaction temperature is studied aiming optimization of various process parameters and hence maximization of uranium and P2O5 recovery. The optimal dissolution efficiency of uranium and P2O5 in hydrochloric acid referring to 88.46 % and 91.37 %, respectively, is obtained under the following conditions: a liquid:solid ratio of 5:1 mL:g, an acid concentration of 29.6 %, contact time of 25 min and a reaction temperature of 40°C. The optimal dissolution efficiency of uranium and P2O5 in nitric acid referring to 94.16 % and 93.07 %, respectively, is obtained under the following conditions: a liquid:solid ratio of 6:1 mL:g, an acid concentration of 40.9 %, contact time of 20 min and a reaction temperature of 50°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]