Disclosed is an apparatus that is an attrition mill for grinding or comminuting ores, mine wastes, and radioactive wastes some of which may comprise metals, which may include uranium and/or cesium and/or mercury and/or thorium and/or rare earth elements. Also disclosed are processes that employ the apparatus for combined grinding and optionally leaching metals from ores and wastes. Some such methods comprise an optional step of grinding and mixing the ore or waste with a solid inorganic base with water addition or with an aqueous inorganic base, follow by a step of grinding and mixing the ore or waste with an aqueous inorganic acid with or without leaching salt addition, to solubilize the metals present in the ore or the waste. The disclosed apparatus and methods, in some embodiments, enable efficient grinding and attrition of ores substrates and mine wastes even without need for grinding media.

Disclosed is an apparatus that is an attrition mill for grinding or comminuting ores, mine wastes, and radioactive wastes some of which may comprise metals, which may include uranium and/or cesium and/or mercury and/or thorium and/or rare earth elements. Also disclosed are processes that employ the apparatus for combined grinding and optionally leaching metals from ores and wastes. Some such methods comprise an optional step of grinding and mixing the ore or waste with a solid inorganic base with water addition or with an aqueous inorganic base, follow by a step of grinding and mixing the ore or waste with an aqueous inorganic acid with or without leaching salt addition, to solubilize the metals present in the ore or the waste. The disclosed apparatus and methods, in some embodiments, enable efficient grinding and attrition of ores substrates and mine wastes even without need for grinding media.

A system and method for dry ablation beneficiation of ore. The system comprises a nozzle to emit an air stream, and a feeder to provide ore particles for entraining in the air stream and colliding. The ore comprises gangue grains bound together with a cementing material. The cementing material comprises a desired material. The collisions are controlled to help preferentially break the cementing material over breaking the bonds holding a gangue grain together. The system also comprises a classifier to separate broken cementing material from the remaining material (which includes gangue grains) based on size. The method comprises entraining the ore particles in an air stream and colliding to preferentially break the cementing material. The ore particles may be collided with each other or a surface. The broken cementing materials are then separated from the remaining materials (which includes gangue grains). The enriched ore is the separated cementing material.

A system and method for dry ablation beneficiation of ore. The system comprises a nozzle to emit an air stream, and a feeder to provide ore particles for entraining in the air stream and colliding. The ore comprises gangue grains bound together with a cementing material. The cementing material comprises a desired material. The collisions are controlled to help preferentially break the cementing material over breaking the bonds holding a gangue grain together. The system also comprises a classifier to separate broken cementing material from the remaining material (which includes gangue grains) based on size. The method comprises entraining the ore particles in an air stream and colliding to preferentially break the cementing material. The ore particles may be collided with each other or a surface. The broken cementing materials are then separated from the remaining materials (which includes gangue grains). The enriched ore is the separated cementing material.

A method for extracting rare earth metals (e.g., lanthanides and/or actinides) from aqueous solution, the method comprising: (i) acidifying an aqueous solution containing said rare earth metals with sulfuric acid to result in an acidified aqueous solution containing 1-12 M concentration of sulfuric acid; and (ii) contacting the acidified aqueous solution with an aqueous-insoluble hydrophobic solution comprising a rare earth extractant molecule dissolved in an aqueous-insoluble hydrophobic solvent to result in extraction of one or more of the rare earth metals into the aqueous hydrophobic solution, wherein the rare earth extractant molecule has the following structure: ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, and R.sup.4 are independently selected from hydrocarbon groups containing 1-20 carbon atoms, provided that the total carbon atoms in R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, and R.sup.4 is at least 12; and R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 are independently selected from hydrogen atom and hydrocarbon groups containing 1-3 carbon atoms.

A metal-binding protein having a high selective affinity for certain talent cations and/or tetravalent cations derived from, for example, rare earth elements or ions thereof such as lanthanide elements and actinides or ions thereof as well as from hafnium and zirconium elements or compounds thereof is disclosed as well as sensors including same and methods for capturing and separating such trivalent cations and/or tetravalent cations using the metal-binding protein.

A metal-binding protein having a high selective affinity for certain talent cations and/or tetravalent cations derived from, for example, rare earth elements or ions thereof such as lanthanide elements and actinides or ions thereof as well as from hafnium and zirconium elements or compounds thereof is disclosed as well as sensors including same and methods for capturing and separating such trivalent cations and/or tetravalent cations using the metal-binding protein.

Disclosed herein is a method for recovering an acid or a base during a metal extraction process. The method comprises contacting a feed stream comprising the acid or base and the metal with an ultrafiltration membrane to produce an ultrafiltration retentate and an ultrafiltration permeate, and contacting the ultrafiltration permeate with a nanofiltration membrane. The nanofiltration retentate produced comprises a majority of the metal from the feed stream, and the nanofiltration permeate produced comprises a majority of the acid or base from the feed stream. Also disclosed herein is a recovery apparatus for recovering an acid or a base during a metal extraction process.

The invention pertains to a method for separating uranium and/or thorium from an aqueous suspension, said method comprising: a) Contacting said suspension with at least a polymer having formula (I), wherein n is an integer which is not 0 and is no more than 50, R1 is H or CH.sub.3, R2 is H or a C1-C20-alkyl, R3 and R4 arc independently H or a C1-C20-alkyl, X, Y arc O or NH, said polymer being soluble in said aqueous suspension, and wherein when R3 and R4 are H, p is an integer which is 1 or more and 10 at the most, and said polymer is a flocculating polymer, and when at least one of R3 and R4 is not H, p is an integer which is 3 or more and 10 at the most, and said polymer is a thermosensitive polymer and has a LCST in said suspension, b) Carrying out at least one of the following steps b1) and b2) b1) If said suspension contains uranium, separating the aggregates resulting from flocculation of said polymer, from said mixture, b2) If said suspension contains thorium, modifying the mixture until the LCST of the polymer in the mixture is reached or exceeded and separating the resulting aggregates from said mixture; and c) Recovering at least one of uranium and/or thorium-free mixture, aggregates bearing uranium and aggregates bearing thorium.

##STR00001##

An apparatus is for the automated production of a daughter radionuclide from a parent radionuclide using a generator comprising a solid medium onto which the parent nuclide is fixed and whereby the daughter nuclide is formed by radioactive decay of the parent nuclide. The apparatus includes a fluid circuit including a chromatography column having a head port and a tail port, at least one connection port for connecting the generator to the fluid circuit, at least one inlet port for connecting fluid sources to the fluid circuit and at least one valve controlled by an electronic control unit for selectively connecting the chromatography column, the connection port and the at least one inlet port in various configurations. The various configurations include a first elution configuration for circulating an A1 solution exiting the generator and containing the daughter radionuclide, through the chromatography column from the head port to the tail port for loading the chromatography column with the daughter radionuclide; a first washing configuration for circulating an A2 washing solution from a solution inlet through the chromatography column from the head port to the tail port; and a second washing configuration for circulating an A2 washing solution from a solution inlet through the chromatography column from the tail port to the head port.