Potentiality of Using Ascorbic Acid for Selective Recovery of Uranium from Egyptian Monazite

Ascorbic acid plays a vital role in the extraction of uranium from hydrous oxide cake produced after alkali breakdown of Rosetta monazite mineral concentrate. The process involves selective leaching of uranium (99%) using 10% ascorbic acid at a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1: 15. The kinetics of the leaching process and the mechanism of the reaction between ascorbic acid and uranium are discussed. The reaction is chemically controlled, and the calculated apparent activation energy is 28.67 kJ/mol.