Abstract: Alkaline solutions containing sulfate and sodium ions such as uranium leach liquors, are treated with cationic ion exchange resins in the ammonium form to form a solution containing soluble ammonium salts and complexes; the solution is further treated to convert the soluble sulfates into insoluble sulfates and, in the case of uranium, further treating to separate the uranium by heat and/or acidification. The ammonium can be recovered and reused as ammonium carbonate to regenerate the ion exchange resin whereby sodium ions are eluted from the resin in the form of sodium carbonate which is converted to sodium hydroxide and re-cycled for use as leaching solution.

Abstract: In a process for the recovery of uranium from a wet-process phosphoric acid, comprising treating in an extraction step the preliminarily oxidized acid first with an organic solvent consisting essentially of a dialkylphosphoric acid and a trialkyphosphine oxide dissolved in an inert and unreactive organic solvent whereby there are obtained a uranium-free phosphoric acid and an organic extract consisting essentially of the solvent containing the major portion of uranium; then, in a reextraction step, separating the uranium from the organic extract as ammonium uranyl tricarbonate by reacting the organic extract with ammonium hydroxide and ammonium carbonate; and recycling the uranium-free solvent to the extraction step; an improvement comprises treating the organic extract in a reextraction apparatus having at least two stages, by (a) introducing the extract at the head of the first stage; (b) countercurrently introducing ammonia or ammonium hydroxide solution at the bottom of the first stage; the pH of the firs