Recovery of 3%-Enriched Uranium by Means of a Chemical Method

Continuous bench-plant operation for ∼4 months has resulted in the first recovery of 3 %-enriched uranium by means of a chemical-exchange process. This confirms the reduced development time and uranium adsorption band stability predicted by mathematical models, which are derived by application of mass transfer concepts to redox chromatography and extension of addition reaction equilibrium equations to include multiphase systems. Furthermore, it confirms the achievement of a reduction in stage time by >10³ through catalytic acceleration of the isotope-exchange rate and employment of an adsorbent with a high adsorption/desorption rate.