Electrochemical decontamination and recovery of uranium values

Claim 1

A NEW AND IMPROVED PROCESS FOR SEGREGATING AND SEPARATELY RECOVERING URANIUM VALUES FROM A MASS OF METALLC URANIUM CONTAMINATED THROUGHOUT WITH VALUES FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF RARE EARTH VALUES AND PLUTONIUM VALUES, WHICH COMPRISES SUBJECTING SAID MASS OF URANIUM TO ANODIC DISSOLURION, EMPLOYING AN ANODE CURRENT DENSITY APPROXIMATING THE RANGE OF 1 TO 5 AMPERES PER SQUARE DEDIMETER OF SURFACE OF THE DISSOLVING URANIUM MASS, IN AN ELECTROLYTIC CELL CONTAINING SUBSTANTIALLYSATURATED AQUEOUS SODIUM BICARBONATE SOLUTION AS ITS ELECTROLYTE WHILE CONTINUOUSLY CIRCULATING SAID ELECTROLYTE SOLUTION PAST THE SURFACE OF THE ANODICALLY-DISSOLVING URANIUM MASS, THEREBY PROMOTING A CONCOMITANT SETTLING FROM THE SOLUTION OF A SOLID SLUDGE FROM ABOUT THE ELECTRODES OF SAID CELL, AND SEPARATING THE RESULTING ELECTROLYTE SOLUTION CONTAINING CONSEQUENTLY-DECONTAMINATED ANODICALLY-DISSOLVED URANIUM VALUES FROM THE RESULTING SLUDGE CONTAINING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF SAID CONTAMINATING VALUES.