Robert Stanley Rickard
Engineers in Denver, CO

4258014, Mar 24, 1981

Oct 25, 1977

5/845351

Roman Z. Pyrih - Golden CO
Robert S. Rickard - Golden CO
Orin F. Carrington - Arvada CO

Earth Sciences, Inc. - Golden CO

C01G 4300

423 10

The invention is an improvement in the process for recovering uranyl uranium from solutions in which the uranyl uranium is recovered with an liquid-liquid solvent extraction agent dissolved in an inert solvent, the loaded agent scrubbed with water, the scrubbed agent stripped with ammonium carbonate solution to form a slurry of ammonium uranyl tricarbonate, the stripped agent returned to the liquid-liquid solvent extraction step, and the ammonium uranyl tricarbonate calcined to a uranium oxide product, the improvement which comprises stripping the uranium from the ion exchange agent with an alkali metal carbonate rather than ammonium carbonate, scrubbing the loaded agent with acidified alkali carbonate strip solution prior to stripping, and regenerating the stripped liquid-liquid solvent extraction agent with a mineral acid before return to the liquid-liquid solvent extraction circuit.

4258015, Mar 24, 1981

Oct 25, 1977

5/845352

Roman Z. Pyrih - Golden CO
Robert S. Rickard - Golden CO
Orin F. Carrington - Arvada CO

Earth Sciences, Inc. - Golden CO

C01G 4300

423 10

An improvement in the process for the recovery of uranium from a phosphoric acid solution derived from the acidification of uraniferous phosphate ores including the steps of reducing the uranium in the phosphoric acid solution to the uranous form and contacting the resulting solution with a liquid-liquid solvent extraction agent which is a mixture of mono- and di-(alkyl-phenyl) esters of orthophosphoric acid dissolved in an inert organic diluent, to effect recovery of the uranium with the liquid-liquid solvent extraction agent, the improvement being maintaining the proper ratio of the mono and di-components of the liquid-liquid solvent extraction mixture which comprises removing dissolved and entrained uranium process organics from the raffinate resulting from said liquid-liquid solvent extraction step and recycling the removed organics to said liquid-liquid solvent extraction step.

4258013, Mar 24, 1981

Sep 14, 1977

5/833247

Roman Z. Pyrih - Golden CO
Robert S. Rickard - Golden CO
Orin F. Carrington - Arvada CO

Earth Sciences Inc. - Golden CO

C01G 4302, C01G 4300

423 10

Improvement in the process for recovering uranium from wet-process phosphoric acid solution derived from the acidulation of uraniferous phosphate ores by the use of two ion exchange liquid-liquid solvent extraction circuits in which in the first circuit (a) the uranium is reduced to the uranous form; (b) the uranous uranium is recovered by liquid-liquid solvent extraction using a mixture of mono- and di-(alkyl-phenyl) esters of orthophosphoric acid as the ion exchange agent; and (c) the uranium oxidatively stripped from the agent with phosphoric acid containing an oxidizing agent to convert uranous to uranyl ions, and in the second circuit (d) recovering the uranyl uranium from the strip solution by liquid-liquid solvent extraction using di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid in the presence of trioctylphosphine oxide as a synergist; (e) scrubbing the uranium loaded agent with water; (f) stripping the loaded agent with ammonium carbonate, and (g) calcining the formed ammonium uranyl carbonate to uranium oxide, the improvement comprising: (1) removing the organics from the raffinate of step (b) before recycling the raffinate to the wet-process plant, and returning the recovered organics to the circuit to substantially maintain the required balance between the mono and disubstituted esters; (2) using hydogren peroxide as the oxidizing agent in step (c); (3) using an alkali metal carbonate as the stripping agent in step (f) following by acidification of the strip solution with sulfuric acid; (4) using some of the acidified strip solution as the scrubbing agent in step (e) to remove phosphorus and other impurities; and (5) regenerating the alkali metal loaded agent from step (f) before recycling it to the second circuit.

4115110, Sep 19, 1978

Apr 8, 1977

5/786026

Roman Z. Pyrih - Golden CO
Robert S. Rickard - Golden CO

Earth Sciences, Inc. - Golden CO

C22B 3422, C22C 3824, C01G 3100

75101R

A process for recovering vanadium values from carbonaceous type vanadium ores, and vanadium scrap, such as vanadium contaminated spent catalyst, is disclosed which comprises roasting the vanadium containing material in air at a temperature less than about 600. degree. C to produce a material substantially devoid of organic matter, subjecting said roasted material to a further oxidizing roast in an oxygen atmosphere at a temperature of at least about 800. degree. C for a period sufficient to convert substantially all of the vanadium to the soluble form, leaching the calcine with a suitable dilute mineral acid or water at a pH of neutral to about 2 to recover vanadium values, precipitating vanadium values as iron vanadate from the leach solution with a soluble iron compound at a pH from neutral to about 1, and recovering ferrovanadium from the iron vanadate by a reduction vacuum smelting operation. The conversion of vanadium in the ore to the soluble form by the oxidizing roast is accomplished without the addition of an alkaline salt during calcining.

3933975, Jan 20, 1976

Feb 8, 1974

5/441179

Cvetko B. Nikolic - Golden CO
Weldon P. Zundel - Golden CO
Robert S. Rickard - Lakewood CO

Amax Inc. - New York NY

C01G 5306, C01G 5100

423139

A method is provided for separating nickel and cobalt from a cobalt-nickel precipitate, the cobalt being in the cobaltic state. The method comprises dissolving the precipitate in an ammonium sulfate solution containing NH. sub. 3, acidifying the solution to a pH of about 1. 5 to 3. 0 and then cooling the solution to produce a nickel-ammonium sulfate precipitate highly enriched in nickel. The precipitate is separated from the solution and the solution passed through an ion exchange column selective to the removal of nickel, the solution remaining containing said cobalt substantially free of nickel, the cobalt solution being then sent to cobalt recovery.

4263148, Apr 21, 1981

Apr 9, 1979

6/028455

Raymond D. Symens - Lakewood CO
Robert S. Rickard - Golden CO

Earth Sciences, Inc. - Golden CO

B03D 102, C01B 25235

210705

A process is disclosed for removing colloidal and non-colloidal humic matter from an aqueous solution of phosphoric acid, the process comprising (a) treating the phosphoric acid solution with a flocculant to flocculate the humic matter, (b) adding to the aqueous solution an effective amount of a phenol compound in order to destabilize the colloidal humic matter contained in the solution and to aid in the formation of froth, and (c) separating the humic matter from the solution by froth flotation.

4305912, Dec 15, 1981

Jul 24, 1978

5/927391

Roman A. Pyrih - Golden CO
Robert S. Rickard - Golden CO
Orin F. Carrington - Arvada CO

Earth Sciences, Inc. - Golden CO

B01D 1104, C01G 4300, C22B 6002

423 10

Organic substances are removed from a highly ionic medium by contacting the medium with a substantially hydrophobic polystyrene type resin. This process is especially useful in the hydrometallurgical processes for the removal of organic substances from highly ionic raffinates prior to the recycle of the raffinate into the hydrometallurgical process.

3933976, Jan 20, 1976

Feb 8, 1974

5/441180

Cvetko B. Nikolic - Golden CO
Robert S. Rickard - Lakewood CO
Weldon P. Zundel - Golden CO

Amax Inc. - New York NY

C01G 5100, C01G 5300

423144

A method is provided for enriching nickel in a nickel-cobalt solution to a nickel-to-cobalt ratio of over 2000:1, wherein an aliquot portion of the solution is removed, the nickel precipitated from said aliquot portion in the nickelous state, the nickelous precipitate thereafter oxidized to the nickelic state and the oxidized nickel precipitate then mixed with the remaining nickel-cobalt solution to oxidize the cobalt therein to the cobaltic state which precipitates from the solution, thereby highly enriching the solution in nickel.

5103578, Apr 14, 1992

Mar 26, 1991

7/675438

Robert S. Rickard - Golden CO

Amoco Corporation - Chicago IL

F26B 1330

34 92

Volatile compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) which contaminate a soil can be removed--without incineration--by a process which generally involves: (1) introducing the contaminated soil into a vessel, (2) heating the soil to a temperature greater than about 300. degree. F. , but less than 600. degree. F. , preferably in the presence of an inert gas, (3) drawing a vacuum on the vessel to such a degree as to cause the contaminant to flash to a contaminant vapor and (4) condensing the contaminate vapor to a liquid and (5) disposing of said liquid.