US EPA

3730428 

Journal Article 

Oxidative leaching kinetics of molybdenum-uranium ore in H2SO4 using H2O2 as an oxidizing agent 

Lasheen, TA; El-Ahmady, ME; Hassib, HB; Helal, AS 

2013 

7 

1 

95-102 

10.1007/s11705-013-1317-6 

WOS:000209385400014 

The processing of molybdenum-uranium ore in a sulfuric acid solution using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant has been investigated. The leaching temperature, hydrogen peroxide concentration, sulfuric acid concentration, leaching time, particle size, liquid-to-solid ratio and agitation speed all have significant effects on the process. The optimum process operating parameters were: temperature: 95 degrees C; H2O2 concentration: 0.5 M; sulfuric acid concentration: 2.5 M; time: 2 h; particle size: 74 mu m, liquid-to-solid ratio: 14 : 1 and agitation speed: 600 rpm. Under these experimental conditions, the extraction efficiency of molybdenum was about 98.4%, and the uranium extraction efficiency was about 98.7%. The leaching kinetics of molybdenum showed that the reaction rate of the leaching process is controlled by the chemical reaction at the particle surface. The leaching process follows the kinetic model 1 - (1-X)(1/3) = kt with an apparent activation energy of 40.40 kJ/mole. The temperature, concentrations of H2O2 and H2SO4 and the mesh size are the main factors that influence the leaching rate. The reaction order in H2SO4 was 1.0012 and in H2O2 it was 1.2544. 

leaching of molybdenum; leaching of uranium; kinetics