Recent advances on the chemistry of solvent extraction applied to the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels and radioactive wastes

After a brief description of the PUREX process as a starting point, this paper aims to point out some of its most recent developments, always from the viewpoint of the chemistry involved in the solvent extraction methods. In addition to PUREX, other well-known technological approaches devoted to the reprocessing of irradiated uranium and thorium nuclear fuels and general radioactive wastes — TRUEX, DIAMEX, TRPO, DIDPA and UNEX — are also presented and discussed.

[1]  Terry A. Todd,et al.  THE UNIVERSAL SOLVENT EXTRACTION (UNEX) PROCESS. I. DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNEX PROCESS SOLVENT FOR THE SEPARATION OF CESIUM, STRONTIUM, AND THE ACTINIDES FROM ACIDIC RADIOACTIVE WASTE , 2001 .

[2]  Z. Kolarik,et al.  EXTRACTION OF Am(lll) AND Eu(lll) NITRATES BY 2-6-DI-(5,6-DIPROPYL-1,2,4-TRIAZIN-3-YL)PYRIDINES 1 , 1999 .

[3]  T. Srinivasan,et al.  THIRD PHASE FORMATION IN EXTRACTION OF THORIUM NITRATE BY MIXTURES OF TRIALKYL PHOSPHATES , 1998 .

[4]  G. Uchiyama,et al.  Reduction of Neptunium(VI) by Butyraldehyde Isomers in Nitric Acid Solution , 1998 .

[5]  P. K. Wattal,et al.  AKUFVE STUDIES ON EXTRACTION BEHAVIOUR OF NEPTUNIUM FROM SIMULATED HLW SOLUTIONS BY 30% TBP , 1998 .

[6]  P. Thiyagarajan,et al.  Interpretation of Third Phase Formation in the Th(IV)–HNO3, TBP–n‐Octane System with Baxter's “Sticky Spheres” Model , 2004 .

[7]  J. N. Mathur,et al.  Thermodynamics of extraction of Am(III) and Eu(III) from different anionic media with Tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide , 2003 .

[8]  Zu-Ming Zhou,et al.  Kinetic studies on the stripping of thorium (IV) and uranium (IV) from tributylphosphate-kerosene with dilute nitric acid solution , 1998 .

[9]  M. Ozawa,et al.  PARTITIONING OF ACTINIDES AND FISSION PRODUCTS IN HIGHLY-ACTIVE RAFFIN ATE FROM PUREX PROCESS BY MIXER-SETTLERS , 1992 .

[10]  M. Dietz,et al.  EXTRACTION OF ALKALINE EARTH AND ACTINIDE CATIONS BY MIXTURES OF DI(2-ETHYLHEXYL) ALKYLENEDIPHOSPHONIC ACIDS AND NEUTRAL SYNERGISTS , 2002 .

[11]  Y. Koma,et al.  A COUNTER CURRENT EXPERIMENT FOR THE SEPARATION OF TRIVALENT ACTINIDES AND LANTHANIDES BY THE SETFICS PROCESS , 1998 .

[12]  E. Horwitz,et al.  THE EXTRACTION OF SELECTED ACTINIDES IN THE ( III) (IV) AND ( VI) OXIDATION STATES FROM HYDROCHLORIC ACID BY Oπ D( iB) CMPO: THE TRUEX-CHLORIDE PROCESS∗ , 1987 .

[13]  E. Horwitz,et al.  Behavior of americium in the strip stages of the TRUEX process , 1988 .

[14]  A. Geist,et al.  KINETICS OF LANTHANIDE/ACTINIDE CO-EXTRACTION WITH N,N′-DIMETHYL-N,N′-DIBUTYLTETRADECYLMALONIC DIAMIDE (DMDBTDMA) , 2001 .

[15]  Y. Morita,et al.  Extraction of Pentavalent Neptunium with Di-Isodecyl Phosphoric Acid , 1987 .

[16]  M. Peters,et al.  Enhanced selectivity for actinides over lanthanides with CMPO ligands secured to a C(3)-symmetric triphenoxymethane platform. , 2002, Inorganic chemistry.

[17]  M. Reddy,et al.  4-ACYLBIS(1-PHENYL-3-METHYL-5-PYRAZOLONES) AS EXTRACTANTS FOR f-ELEMENTS , 2000 .

[18]  Yongjun Zhu,et al.  SEPARATION OF Am FROM MACRO AMOUNT OF LANTHANIDES BY A COUNTERCURRENT MULTISTAGE EXTRACTION WITH PURIFIED CYANEX 301 AND TBP , 2001 .

[19]  E. Horwitz,et al.  DEGRADATION OF TRUEX-DODECANE PROCESS SOLVENT , 1989 .

[20]  S. Yarbro,et al.  Reducing Pu(IV) to Pu(III) with hydroxylamine in nitric acid solutions , 1998 .

[21]  T. Todd,et al.  Mercury Extraction By The TRUEX Process Solvent: III. Extractable Species And Stoichiometry† , 1998 .

[22]  I. Smirnov,et al.  Development Of The Universal Extraction (Unex) Process For The Simultaneous Recovery Of Cs, Sr, And Actinides From Acidic Radioactive Wastes , 2003 .

[23]  G. Choppin,et al.  Extraction and Mutual Separation of Actinide(III), (IV), (V) and (VI) Ions by N,N′-Dimethyl-N,N′-Dihexyl-3-Oxapentanediamide and Thenoyltrifluoroacetone , 2000 .

[24]  G. Uchiyama,et al.  New Separation Process for Neptunium, Plutonium, and Uranium Using Butyraldehydes as Reductants in Reprocessing , 1993 .

[25]  M. Subramanian,et al.  EFFECT OF EXTRACTANT STRUCTURE ON THIRD PHASE FORMATION IN THE EXTRACTION OF URANIUM AND NITRIC ACID BY N,N-DIALKYL AMIDES , 2001 .

[26]  M. Murali,et al.  USE OF A MIXTURE OF TRPO AND TBP FOR THE PARTITIONING OF ACTINIDES FROM HIGH-LEVEL WASTE SOLUTIONS OF PUREX ORIGIN AND ITS COMPARISON WITH CMPO AND OTHER PHOSPHORUS-BASED EXTRACTANTS , 2001 .

[27]  N. Hill,et al.  Np(IV) Distribution between 30% Tributylphosphate in Odourless Kerosene and Nitric Acid , 1998 .

[28]  George F. Vandegrift,et al.  THE TRUEX PROCESS - A PROCESS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF THE TKANSURANIC ELEMENTS EROM NITRIC AC In WASTES UTILIZING MODIFIED PUREX SOLVENT* , 1985 .

[29]  Terry A. Todd,et al.  Development and testing of a cobalt dicarbollide based solvent extraction process for the separation of cesium and strontium from acidic tank waste , 2002 .

[30]  S. Sriram,et al.  THIRD PHASE FORMATION IN THE EXTRACTION OF URANYL NITRATE BY N,N-DIALKYL ALIPHATIC AMIDES , 2000 .

[31]  K. Nash,et al.  ACTINIDE PARTITIONING—A REVIEW , 2001 .

[32]  K. M. Michael,et al.  Extraction of plutonium from acidic media using various phosphine oxides , 2002 .

[33]  I. Smirnov,et al.  THE UNIVERSAL SOLVENT EXTRACTION (UNEX) PROCESS. II. FLOWSHEET DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION OF THE UNEX PROCESS FOR THE SEPARATION OF CESIUM, STRONTIUM, AND ACTINIDES FROM ACTUAL ACIDIC RADIOACTIVE WASTE , 2001 .

[34]  T. Asakura,et al.  THE SEPARATION OF NEPTUNIUM AND TECHNETIUM IN AN ADVANCED PUREX PROCESS , 1998 .

[35]  Zhu Yongjun,et al.  EXTRACTION OF Am(III) AND Ln(III) BY DIALKYLDITHIOPHOSPHINIC ACID WITH DIFFERENT ALKYL GROUPS , 2001 .

[36]  G. Choppin,et al.  PARAFFIN WAX AS A DILUENT FOR EXTRACTION OF ACTINIDES AND LANTHANIDES WITH TBP , 1998 .

[37]  M. Hudson,et al.  Studies on the Parallel Synthesis and Evaluation of New Heterocyclic Extractants for the Partitioning of Minor Actinides , 2003 .

[38]  D. Sood,et al.  Chemistry of nuclear fuel reprocessing: Current status , 1996 .

[39]  A. Wallwork,et al.  URANIUM(VI) EXTRACTION BY TBP IN THE PRESENCE OF HDBP , 1999 .

[40]  G. Vandegrift,et al.  Truex Process Solvent Cleanup with Solid Sorbents , 1990 .

[41]  D. R. Mcalister,et al.  SOLVENT EXTRACTION BY DIALKYL-SUBSTITUTED DIPHOSPHONIC ACIDS IN A DEPOLYMERIZING DILUENT. II. Fe(III) AND ACTINIDE IONS , 2001 .

[42]  J. Chen,et al.  Extraction of Am(III) and Eu(III) from Nitrate Solution with Purified Cyanex 301 , 1996 .

[43]  D. Sood,et al.  EXTRACTION OF PLUTONIUM (III) BY TBP IN PRESENCE OF URANIUM , 2000 .

[44]  M. Valiente,et al.  Extraction of neodymium(III) at trace level with di(2-ethyl-hexyl)phosphoric acid in hexane , 1999 .

[45]  N. Chaudhuri,et al.  Study on the extraction of U(IV) relevant to PUREX process , 1998 .

[46]  T. Fujii,et al.  EXTRACTION OF MOLYBDENUM FROM NITRIC ACID BY OCTYL(PHENYL)-N,N-DIISOBUTYLCARBAMOYLMETHYL-PHOSPHINE OXIDE , 2001 .

[47]  D. R. Prabhu,et al.  Substituted malonamides as extractants for partitioning of actinides from nuclear waste solutions , 1998 .

[48]  S. Tachimori,et al.  EXTRACTION OF ACTINIDES(III), (IV), (V), (VI), AND LANTHANIDES(III) BY STRUCTURALLY TAILORED DIAMIDES , 2002 .

[49]  J. Navratil,et al.  Compounds of Hexavalent Uranium and Dibutylphosphate in Nitric Acid Systems , 2003 .

[50]  A. Zhang,et al.  Hydroxylamine derivative in the Purex Process , 2002 .

[51]  C. Tondre,et al.  An Attempt to Theoretically Predict Third-Phase Formation in the Dimethyldibutyltetradecylmalonamide (DMDBTDMA)/Dodecane/Water/Nitric Acid Extraction System , 1999 .

[52]  J. Ferraro,et al.  Sans Study Of Third Phase Formation In The Th(iv)-hno3/tbp-n-octane System , 2003 .

[53]  W. W. Schulz,et al.  The Truex Process and the Management of Liquid Tru Uwaste , 1988 .

[55]  C. Madic,et al.  DIAMEX PROCESS FOR MINOR ACTINIDE PARTITIONING: HYDROLYTIC AND RADIOLYTIC DEGRADATIONS OF MALONAMIDE EXTRACTANTS , 2001 .

[56]  J. Liang,et al.  EXTRACTION AND RETENTION OF PLUTONIUM WITH γ-IRRADIATED 30% TRIALKYLPHOSPHINE OXIDE–KEROSENE SOLUTION , 2001 .

[57]  W. Jianchen,et al.  HOT TEST OF TRIALKYL PHOSPHINE OXIDE (TRPO) FOR REMOVING ACTINIDES FROM HIGHLY SALINE HIGH-LEVEL LIQUID WASTE (HLLW) , 2001 .

[58]  C. Madic,et al.  MECHANISM OF TRIVALENT ACTINIDE/LANTHANIDE SEPARATION USING BIS(2,4,4-TRIMETHYLPENTYL) DITHIOPHOSPHINIC ACID (CYANEX 301) AND NEUTRAL O-BEARING CO-EXTRACTANT SYNERGISTIC MIXTURES , 2001 .

[59]  W. W. Schulz,et al.  Science and technology of tributyl phosphate. Vol. I: Synthesis, properties, reactions and analysis , 1984 .

[60]  D. V. Koladkar,et al.  Extraction and separation of Th(IV) and U(VI) from nitric acid media using PIA-8 and HDEHP , 2002 .

[61]  B. Moyer,et al.  FUNDAMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SEPARATIONS SCIENCE FOR RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS , 2000 .

[62]  Giuseppe Modolo,et al.  Influence of the purity and irradiation stability of Cyanex 301 on the separation of trivalent actinides from lanthanides by solvent extraction , 1998 .

[63]  J. Ferraro,et al.  FT-IR STUDY OF THIRD PHASE FORMATION IN THE U(VI) OR Th(IV)/HNO3, TBP/ALKANE SYSTEMS , 2002 .

[64]  J. Ferraro,et al.  Sans Study Of Third Phase Formation In The U(vi)-hno3/tbp-n-dodecane System , 2003 .

[65]  T. Todd,et al.  MERCURY EXTRACTION BY THE TRUEX PROCESS SOLVENT. II. SELECTIVE PARTITIONING OF MERCURY FROMCO-EXTRACTED ACTINIDES IN A SIMULATED ACIDIC ICPP WASTE STREAM1 , 1995 .

[66]  A. Turanov,et al.  EXTRACTION OF RARE-EARTH ELEMENTS FROM NITRIC SOLUTIONS BY PHOSPHORYL-CONTAINING PODANDS , 1999 .

[67]  K. M. Michael,et al.  Separation and Recovery of Uranium and Plutonium from Oxalate Supernatant , 2000 .

[68]  H. Eccles.  NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE TECHNOLOGIES -SUSTAINABLE IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY? , 2000 .

[69]  W. W. Schulz,et al.  Solvent Extraction in Nuclear Science and Technology , 2004 .

[70]  Alkyl-substituted 2,6-dioxadiazolylpyridines as selective extractants for trivalent actinides , 2003 .

[71]  Y. Morita,et al.  EXTRACTION OF NEPTUNIUM WITH DI-ISODECYL PHOSPHORIC ACID FROM NITRIC ACID SOLUTION CONTAINING HYDROGEN PEROXIDE , 1988 .

[72]  Y. Morita,et al.  Back-extraction of tri- and tetravalent actinides from diisodecylphosphoric acid (DIDPA) with hydrazine carbonate , 2002 .

[73]  H. Jingxin,et al.  HYDROXYLAMINE DERIVATIVE IN PUREX PROCESS. VI. STUDY ON THE PARTITION OF URANIUM/NEPTUNIUM AND URANIUM/PLUTONIUM WITH N,N-DIETHYLHYDROXYLAMINE IN THE PURIFICATION CYCLE OF URANIUM CONTACTOR , 2001 .

[74]  M. Drew,et al.  COMPARISON OF EXTRACTION BEHAVIOUR AND BASICITY OF SOME SUBSTITUTED MALONAMIDES , 2000 .

[75]  R. Odoj,et al.  SYNERGISTIC SELECTIVE EXTRACTION OF ACTINIDES(III) OVER LANTHANIDES FROM NITRIC ACID USING NEW AROMATIC DIORGANYLDITHIOPHOSPHINIC ACIDS AND NEUTRAL ORGANOPHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS , 1999 .

[76]  I. Smirnov,et al.  UNIVERSAL SOLVENT EXTRACTION (UNEX) FLOWSHEET TESTING FOR THE REMOVAL OF CESIUM, STRONTIUM, AND ACTINIDE ELEMENTS FROM RADIOACTIVE, ACIDIC DISSOLVED CALCINE WASTE , 2002 .