Other Names: n/a
Location: Homs, Hims
Subordinate To: Atomic Energy Commission of Syria
Size: Micro Pilot Plant
Primary Function: Uranium recovery from phosphates
Description: With assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS) acquired a micro-plant facility, spare parts, and chemicals to enable recovery of yellowcake uranium on an experimental basis from the phosphoric acid produced at the commercial Syrian General Fertilizer Company Plant at Homs.[1] The Homs plant produces phosphoric acid from phosphoric rock mined in the Charkia and Knifes deposits which contain about 60 to 100 parts per million of uranium.

This project was to be the first step in Syria's nuclear program; subsequent steps were to include a pilot plant, an industrial scale plant and then possibly operations such as refining, conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication. The IAEA technical cooperation project included staff training in the operation of the micro-plant and uranium recover process.[2]

The AECS has also requested assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to construct an industrial-scale pilot plant to recover uranium. Canada's Kilborn Inc. carried out a pre-feasibility study to determine whether the basic technology for extracting uranium from phosphoric acid produced at the Homs plant is feasible for an industrial-scale plant, but determined that the industrialization of the process was not advisable due to financial considerations.[3]

In 1996, Syria initiated a tri-partite contract with the IAEA and an unnamed entity (supplier) to improve Syria's technical capabilities in removing uranium from triple superphosphate produced in the fertilizer plant at Homs. The project was complete in 2001.[4]

Also in 1996, the AECS carried out a preliminary investigation to determine whether it was possible to apply the solvent extraction method to recover uranium from phosphoric acid produced at the Homs plant. Triple superphosphates are produced at Homes at the rate of 165,000t per year.[5]

Sources:
[1] For detailed operations of the AEC's fertilizer plant in Homs, see "MEAB-Turnkey: SAEC plant in Homs, Syria," Metallextraktion AB, <http://www.meab-mx.se/en/service_turnkey_syrien.htm>.
[2] "SYR/3/003 – Report on Pre-feasibility Study on the Recovery of Uranium from Phosphoric Acid," International Atomic Energy Agency, Technical Cooperation Report, 12 November 1992.
[3] "Uranium Recovery From Phosphoric Acid: SYR/3/003," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), <http://www-tc.iaea.org/tcweb/tcprogramme/projectsbycountry/query/default.asp>, completed 12/30/1992; "SYR/3/003 – Report on Pre-feasibility Study on the Recovery of Uranium from Phosphoric Acid," International Atomic Energy Agency, Technical Cooperation Report, 12 November 1992.
[4] "Technical Cooperation Report for 2001," GC(46)/INF/4, International Atomic Energy Agency, 2001, p. 39, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/About/Policy/GC/GC46/Documents/gc46inf-4.pdf>.
[5] Nuzhat Elian and Isslam Kalak, "Search For a Developed Method For The Determination of Fe2 and Fe3 in Syrian Phosphoric Acid," Aalam Al-Zarra, May 1989, no. 8, pp. 81-86; Koudsi, Y. Khorfan, S. Shleweit, H. Dahdouh, A. Sweid, "Effect of Oxidation-Reduction on the Extraction of Uranium From Wet Phosphoric Acid by DEHPA/TOPO," Aalam Al-Zarra, Mar-Apr 1998, 54, pp. 59-62. Khorfan, S. Koudsi, Y. Dahdouh, and A. Shlweit, "Preliminary investigation on the extraction of uranium from Syrian phosphoric acid," International Conference on Uranium Extraction, Chinese Nuclear Society, 1996.

	Updated August 2003