Separation of uranium from technetium in recovery of spent nuclear fuel

Patent · Wed Jun 13 00:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:6002567

Friedman, H A

A method for decontaminating uranium product from the Purex 5 process comprises addition of hydrazine to the product uranyl nitrate stream from the Purex process, which contains hexavalent (UO/sub 2//sup 2 +/) uranium and heptavalent technetium (TcO/sub 4/-). Technetium in the product stream is reduced and then complexed by the addition of oxalic acid (H/sub 2/C/sub 2/O/sub 4/), and the Tc-oxalate complex is readily separated from the 10 uranium by solvent extraction with 30 vol % tributyl phosphate in n-dodecane.

• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• Assignee: Dept. of Energy
• Patent Number(s): None
• Application Number: ON: TI85006499
• OSTI ID: 6002567
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050800* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Spent Fuels Reprocessing
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105 -- Separation Procedures
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ACTINIDES
BUTYL PHOSPHATES
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CLEANING
DECONTAMINATION
DICARBOXYLIC ACIDS
ELEMENTS
ESTERS
EXTRACTION
HYDRAZINE
METALS
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
OXALIC ACID
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORIC ACID ESTERS
PUREX PROCESS
REPROCESSING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
TBP
TECHNETIUM
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
URANIUM
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANYL COMPOUNDS
URANYL NITRATES