THE HYDROLYSIS PRODUCTS OF TRIBUTYL PHOSPHATE AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE TRIBUTYL PHOSPHATE PROCESS FOR URANIUM RECOVERY

A study was made of the stability of tributyl phosphate (TBP) to acids, bases, and UO/sub 2/(NO/sub 3/su)/sub 2/ solutions, and of the chemistry of its decomposition products. The effect of such decomposition products on the extraction behavior of ion of MBP and lines the RAW analyzer and a subsequent reduction of feed flow rate in each case resulted in immediate reduction in losses, as evidenced by the polarographic results. In many such instances, several hours of operation at high waste losses were avoided. A dropping mercury electrode was used for stream analysis, and the RAW solution was analyzed directiy without either dilution or addition of supporting eleclrolyte. Removal of dissolved oxygen and control of temperature were urnecessary. The precision of the method was better than plus or minus 5%, and the accuracy, which is dependent on calibration with a standard solution, was well within the precision value. The calibration curve is linear, for practical purposes, up to approximately 8 g/l UNH or 0.032 lb/gal uranium. (auth