DETERMINATION OF CARBONATE, BICARBONATE AND PHOSPHATE IN URANIUM LEACH LIQUORS CONTAINING KMNO4, AS OXIDANT

A simple, rapid and economic method has been developed for the reducti on of potassium permanganate in alkaline carbonate uranium leach liquo rs to a colourless solution. The pink colour of permanganate, if not r educed, seriously impedes the determination of carbonate, bicarbonate and phosphate by titrimetry and spectrophotometry. Out of 17 reductant s investigated, commercial sugar has been found to be the most effecti ve, rapid, simple and interference free for further estimations. To th e best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that sugar as a reductant has been made use of in analytical investigations.