Studies on parameters affecting uranium leaching from phosphogypsum

Τhe effect of different parameters such as pH, ligand type (e.g. HCO₃⁻, EDTA, citric acid) and concentration on the uranium leaching from phosphogypsum samples has been investigated as a function of time by means of batch-type experiments, and uranium concentration was analyzed by ICP-OES. The highest leaching rate of uranium has been observed for EDTA, followed by citrate and carbonate. The ligand concentration, which has been studied for 0.01 M and 0.001M, seems to significantly affect the leaching rate only in the case of EDTA, and the effect of pH differs from one ligand to another.