Recovery of uranium from wash liquids

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR DECONTAMINATION AND RECOVERY OF URANIUM FROM AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION CONTAINING THE SAME AS A NITRATE, IN CONCENTRATION OF AT LEAST THE ORDER OF 3 TO 4 PERCENT BY WEIGHT WITH RESPECT TO URANIU, TOGETHER WITH DISOLVED IRON CONTAMINATION IN CONCENTRATION OF AT MOST 20 PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF THE URANIUM CONCENTRATION, ALONG WITH DISSOLVED CHROMIUM, NICKEL AND COPPER CONTAMINATION, THE IMPROVEMENT OPERATION WHICH COMPRISES, INCORPORATING SULFURIC ACID TO RENDER THE SOLUTION SUBSTANTIALLY 0.1 M IN SULFATE ION, THEN WHILE MAINTAINING THE PH BELOW 1 AND THE TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE RANGE 50* TO 30* C. ADDING HYDROGEN PEROXIDE TO RENDER SAID URANIUM VALUES TO BE IN THE URANYL OXIDATION STATE AND SAID IRON CONTAMINATION TO BE IN THE FERRIC STATE, THEREUPON BY MEANS OF ADDING AMMONIUM HYROXIDE IN THE PRESENCE OF SURFACE ACTIVE AGENT INCORPORATED IN SAID SOLUTION RAISING THE PH OF THE SOLUTION TO THE RANGE PH 3.1 TO 3.5, WHILE MAINTAINING THE TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE RANGE 10* TO 40* C., TO THEREBY THROW DOWN FROM SOLUTION SAID IRON CONTAMINATION AS A PRECIPITATE OF ENHANCED SEPARABILITY, REMOVING THE RESULTING PRECIPITATE FROM ITS SUPERNATANT SOLUTION, THEREUPON ADDING AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE TO THE REMAINING SUPERNATANT SOLUTION TO RAISE THE PH TO THE RANGE PH 6.5 TO 8, AND DIGESTING AT TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE RANGE OF 50 TO 85* C., TO PRECIPITATE SAID URANIUM VALUES AS URANIUM DIURANATE, SEPARATING THE OBTAINED DIURANATE PRECIPITATE FROM ITS SUPERNATANT SOLUTION, DISSOLVING THE SEPARATED DIURANATE PRECIPITATE IN DILUTE AQUEOUS NITRIC ACID, AND WHILE MAINTAINING THE PH OF THE OBTAINED SOLUTION AT SUBSTANTIALLY PH 2, ADDING HYROGEN PEROXIDE THERETO TO PRECIPITATE SAID URANIUM VALUES AS URANIUM PEROXIDE.