Recent advances and present status of uranium refining in India

The present requirement of reactor grade natural uranium-di-oxide and metal for power and research reactors are met by indigenous production. The purity of the final product is achieved by solvent extraction process using Tri butyl-phosphate. This involves handling of large quantities of slurry and pulping, filtration and evaporation operations. The calcination and reduction are carried out in rotary furnaces which are more amenable for smaller scale of operations. An extraction unit has been developed for uranium extraction directly from slurries, thus eliminating a number of process steps that are normally involved with the conventional perforated plate pulsed columns. Developmental efforts were also directed towards the studies on recovery of Uranium by Ammonium-Uranyl-Carbonate (AUC) route and calcination of AUC and reduction of UO3 (obtained by ADU route) in the fluidized bed reaction systems. This paper brings out the process developments, which have taken place in India in the recent past, that would make the refining operations much more simpler and adoptable for larger scale of operations. (author)