Sodium diuranate

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Sodium diuranate
Image:Sodium diuranate.jpg
Systematic name Sodium diuranate
Other names Sodium diuranate hexahydrate
Molecular formula Na2U2O7·6H2O
Molar mass xx.xx g/mol
Density x.xxx g/cm3
Solubility (water) x.xx g/l
Melting point xx.x °C
Boiling point xx.x °C
CAS number [xx-xx-xx]
Disclaimer and references

Sodium diuranate, Na2U2O7·6H2O, is a uranium salt also known as the yellow oxide of uranium. Along with ammonium diuranate it was a component in early yellowcakes, the ratio of the two species determined by process conditions; yellowcake is now largely a mix of uranium oxides.

In the classical procedure for extracting uranium, pitchblende is broken up and mixed with sulphuric and nitric acids. The uranium dissolves to form uranyl sulfate, and sodium hydroxide is added to make the uranium precipitate as sodium diuranate, This older method of extracting uranium from its uraninite ores has been replaced in current practice by such procedures as solvent extraction, ion exchange, and volatility methods.

In the past it was widely used to produce vaseline glass, the sodium salt dissolving easily into the silica matrix during the firing of the initial melt.

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