Parametric study of uranium ore acid leaching by percolation: experimental design, kinetic study and numerical modeling with the unreacted shrinking core model

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2025年3月27日

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Safir Ouassel,
Hayet Guettaf,
Sihem Khemaissia,
Messaoud Bennemla,
Riad Chahdane,
Mohamed Chakib Mekibda,
Kheireddine Bouchefer,
Massilia Rania Ahnia,
Dallel Chebouki,
Karima Yakoubi

摘要

This study investigates the percolation leaching of uranium from Tahaggart ore through an L8 Taguchi experimental design. The parameters selected in this study are: acid concentration (10–50 g L⁻¹), heap height (23–30 cm), flow rate (0.55–1.55 mL min⁻¹), and liquid-to-solid ratio (1.15–1.42). Taguchi optimization revealed that sulfuric acid concentration at 50 g L⁻¹ and flow rate at 0.55 mL min⁻¹ were the two most significant factors that contribute favorably to process robustness, with a signal-to-noise of 36.03 dB and 35.6 dB, respectively. Response surface analysis achieved 89% leaching efficiency under optimal conditions (50 g L⁻¹, 23 cm, 0.55 mL min⁻¹, 1.15). The unreacted shrinking core model indicated that ash layer diffusion governs the kinetics with spherical particle geometries assumption.