Ultrasonication-enhanced regeneration of resin for adsorbing uranium from leach solutions generated via in-situ leaching

Ion exchange resins used in uranium mines for neutral in-situ leaching mining often experience a reduction in their working exchange capacity owing to contamination. Three regeneration techniques–ultrasonic regeneration, (HCl+H₂O₂) regeneration, and (HCl+H₂O₂) treatment–ultrasonication regeneration methods–were employed to treat the resin, and the efficiencies of the methods were compared. The results indicated that the combination of (1 mol HCl+0.5% H₂O₂) treatment with 10 min ultrasonication exhibited the highest regeneration effectiveness. The industrial applicability verification test showed that the combined method improved the working performanceof the resin from 62.50 to 80.88% after regeneration. Regenerating the contaminated resin in the leachate treatment plant can enhance the efficiency operation of the leachate treatment process.