Acidic heap leaching behavior of uranium from El-Sela area, South Eastern Desert, Egypt

The percolation technique was used to examine the leachability of uranium from El-Sela uranium mineralization. The agglomeration effect, particle size, flow rates, free acidity, solid/liquid ratio, and the ratio of cobblestone effect were all studied in the kinetics of uranium leaching. At a height of 3.0 m within the column, the optimal ratio of cobblestone to ore was found to be 1:4, and the irrigation rate was reduced from 0.15 to 0.1L/m(2)/min, increasing the leachability of uranium from 47.5 to 79%. Finally, column leaching is confirmed by fitting data from an application first-order kinetic law with data collected.

Automated summary

The percolation technique was used to examine the leachability of uranium from El-Sela uranium mineralization, with various factors affecting the kinetics of uranium leaching studied and optimal operational parameters identified. The column leaching experiment's validity was confirmed through data fitting at the end of the study.