VNIPIpromtekhnologii JSC, Moscow, Russia
S. I. Andreeva, Senior Specialist, Andreeva.S.I@vnipipt.ru
A. V. Tatarnikov, Head of Group
E. Yu. Meshkov, Head of Department
N. A. Bobyrenko, Research Trend Manager, Candidate of Chemical Sciences
Dalur JSC, Kurgan Region, Uksyanskoe Village, Russia
A. S. Lavrov, Deputy Director of Production, Head of Production Department
Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, Moscow, Russia
I. D. Troshkina, Professor, Department of Technology of Rare Elements and Associated Nanomaterials, Doctor of Engineering Sciences
In-situ uranium leaching is an advanced, the least cost and eco-friendliest technology as compared with the open pit mining method. After uranium recovery, impurities remain in cycling solutions, including rare metals, in particular, scandium. The feasibility of scandium by-production from sulfuric-acid solutions generated during in-situ uranium leaching is studied. The main focus is on adsorption techniques as the most effective approach to the primary concentration of scandium. Adsorption of scandium was carried out under dynamic conditions adjusted in primary lab-scale testing to ensure equal concentrations in the original and post-adsorption solutions. It is noticed that high mineralization of solutions complicates selective extraction of scandium because of the competitive effect of associate ions. After neutralization of hyperalkalinity in the effluent of scandium hydroxide deposition, the effluent becomes suitable for recycling as a cycling desorbing solution. In view of the mentioned peculiarities, the commercial-scale recovery of scandium represents a set of inter-related technological and science-based approaches that cover the stages of concentration, selective removal of impurities from scandium concentrate and production of standard quality products. The economic production is only possible in case of systemic optimization of the whole processing chain toward selectivity and cost minimization. The authors propose an upgraded process flowsheet that involves secondary scandium adsorption from fluorosilicate solutions, which is aimed at enhancement of scandium extraction. The pilot-scale tests show that the developed technological solutions have are promising nature for the implementation in active production.
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