The continuous recovery of uranium from biologically leached solutions using immobilized biomass

The potential of uranium recovery from the dilute uranium ore bioleach solutions of the Elliot Lake district of Canada was examined using immobilized microbial biomass. Batch and continuous laboratory scale pilot plant experiments were carried out. The results have shown that the immobilized microbial biomass can successfully recover all of the uranium from dilute (less than 300 mg U/L) solutions. The uranium can subsequently be eluted producing a high uranium concentration eluate perhaps exceeding 5000 mg U/L. The biomass maintained its biosorption capacity of about 50 mg U/g over 12 examined successive adsorption-elution cycles with no apparent indication of failure.