Biotechnological recovery of uranium (VI) from Abu Zeneima spent ore residue using green lixiviant

Abstract

AbstractPromising green leaching technique was used by Humic acid (HA) for removing uranium from Abu Zeneima spent residue for environmental safety and cost-effective leaching. The studied residue is outlet from vat leaching process using sulfuric acid leaching of carbonaceous shale ore material with initial uranium assays 185 ppm, which representing a hazardous waste. The overall leaching efficiency assaying 93% of uranium using humic acid leaching at curing temperature 70 °C, 13% HA with S/L ratio of 1/1.5 for 15 day. Kinetic study of leaching process proved diffusion controlling mechanism with activated energy 10.297 kJ/mol. Finally; 98% of uranium was extracted using Amberlite IRA- 400 resin with purity of 97.3%.