Center of Earth Sciences, Metallurgy and Ore Benefication, Almaty, Kazakhstan:

A. N. Zagorodnyaya, Chief Researcher, e-mail: alinazag_39@mail.ru
A. S. Sharipova, Researcher
Z. S. Abisheva, President

Institute of High Technologies of JSC “Kazatomprom”, Almaty, Kazakhstan:
M. P. Kopbaeva, Head of Scientific-Research Department

Center of Earth Sciences, Metallurgy and Ore Benefication developed the sorption technology of rhenium extraction from uranium-containing solutions, obtained by ore opening by underground well leaching using weakly basic anionite A170. It is based on two sorption-desorption stages: the first stage is aimed at processing uranium sorption filtrates with obtaining more concentrated eluates; and the second is aimed at processing ammonia eluates with obtaining technical ammonium perrhenate. The technology was semiindustrially tested on uranium sorption filtrates of one of JSC “Kazatomprom” enterprises. Sorption columns of different volumes were designed, and a unit was mountled for these purposes. Testings on industrial solutions approved the results of laboratory experiments of rhenium sorption from model solutions, which composition is similar to the industrial solutions, and the ones with rhenium concentration of 0.5 mg/dm³. High indicator rhenium may be extracted from the solutions with its average concentration of 0.19 mg/dm³. The first sorption-desorption stage allowed the obtaining solutions with rhenium content of 256 mg/dm³. The second production stage of rhenium sorption-desorption obtained the solutions with average concentration of rhenium of more than 20 g/dm³. Technical ammonium perrhenate with rhenium content of 68.8% (wt.), which may obtain high quality marketable products, was obtained from uranium sorption filtrates.

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