Leaching of Uranium from Its Mineralization and Experimental Design of the Process

Abstract

The central composite design (CCD) of experiments was used to study the leaching of uranium and iron from the mineralized Gabal Al-Aglab uranium ore sample using sulfuric acid solution. The leaching factors were sulfuric acid concentration, contact time, particle size, temperature, solid to liquid ratio, and stirring rate. The uranium and iron leaching efficiencies were 71.6 and 10.8%, respectively. Three factors were taken into consideration in the experimental planning: leaching time, solid/liquid ratio, and stirring rate. The obtained results were statistically analyzed using analysis of variances (ANOVA) to determine the main effects and interactions between the investigated factors.