Since the late 60’s, a uranium mine in eastern Europe (DIAMO) has used the In-Situ Leaching (ISL) method along with traditional underground mining. Over the years the acid solutions and leaching products have spread into a large volume of underground water and it is necessary to clean up this contaminated water. The make-up-process for the water purification requires highly alloyed materials for the equipment. In 1994 the operator awarded a US company a contract to clean up the acidic solutions and to produce a pure salt product using a system of evaporators, crystallizers and recrystallizers. In an attempt to simulate real plant conditions, test procedures were set up with the original mother liquor and its concentrate solution to qualify the optimum alloy for the given components. A NiCrMo-alloy (Alloy 31) was specified as part of the evaporator body on the Basis of corrosion and cost aspects. It has been reported that there is no visible appearance of corrosion on any
part of equipment which has been fabricated from Alloy 31.
Keywords: environmental protection, soil, groundwater, radioactive waste, uranium mining, sulfuric acid, salts, evaporators, crystallizers, NiCrMo-alloys, Alloy 31, UNS N0803 1, welding, gtaw, pitting corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, see