Description
⌕ Enlarge Image
Uranium is one of the more popular actinides that has a silver-grey metallic color in its natural solid state. It is has slight radioactive characteristics, is a toxic metal, and it is the densest of all the elements. Uranium has an atomic weight of 238.02891, a melting point of 2070 °F, and a boiling point of 7468 °F. Uranium is often used as a source of energy in nuclear reactors, and it is also used as a colorant in special types of glass.
Isolation
Uranium occurs in many places including different types of rocks, soils, and in some places it is found in water. Isolation processes can be used to extract uranium from these sources.
⌕ Enlarge Image
Commercial sources for uranium recovering mainly come from phosphate rock deposits such as the monazite sands. Monazite is the leading source of uranium, along with pitchblende and lignite. Uranium is first collected through either open pit or underground extraction, or through leaching or borehole mining. Most of the uranium ores contain very low amounts of uranium, less than one percent, and the extraction and isolation process is highly complex. First the ores are crushed into a fine powder, then an acid or alkali substance is leached into the powder. This solution is treated to precipitation, solvent extraction, and ion exchange to form ‘yellowcake.’ The cake like product is over ¾ uranium, and it is calcined in order to remove the remaining contaminants. Uranium can also be produced using a variety of methods including: electrolysis of potassium, uranium, fluoride compound, the thermal decomposition of uranium halides, and the reduction of uranium halides with alkaline materials.