Using Solvent Extraction to Process Nitrate Anion Exchange Column Effluents

Conference · Sun Nov 15 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:6987115

Yarbro, S. L. ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

At the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) plutonium facility, nitrate anion exchange is routinely used to purify impure plutonium scrap; however, the anion exchange process generates large volumes of low-activity aqueous waste. Unfortunately, the evaporation/cementation process has several disadvantages. First, valuable materials, like plutonium, cannot be recovered and have to be placed in burial sites. Since the cost of producing plutonium is increasing and environmental restrictions are tighter, it is desirable to minimize the amount of transuranic (TRU) materials sent to burial. Also, the waste treatment capacity is undersized to handle the anion exchange capacity currently available. However, with the development of octyl(phenyl)-N,N-diisobutylcarbamoyl-methylphosphine oxide (CMPO) and a new centrifugal mixer-settler, it is possible to use solvent extraction as a means of recovering ⁺III, ⁺IV, and ⁺VI actinides from anion exchange waste streams. Extracting the actinides from the column waste streams reduces the activity of the solution to the level that allows it to be discharged directly to the waste handling facility, reducing the load on the evaporation/cementation processes and decreasing the volume of TRU waste generated. The objective of this study was to evaluate CMPO and the centrifugal mixer-settlers and then design a flow sheet and a set of centrifugal contacting equipment that would remove actinides from a concentrated nitric acid waste stream.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
• OSTI ID: 6987115
• Report Number(s): CONF-8711195-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Journal Volume: 55
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ACTINIDES
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
CENTRIFUGATION
CMPO Evaluation
CRITICALITY
Centrifugal Contacting Equipment Design
Centrifugal Mixer-Settlers Evaluation
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
IMPURITIES
INORGANIC ACIDS
ION EXCHANGE
LASL
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MATERIALS
METALS
MIXTURES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITRIC ACID
Nitrate Anion Exchange
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Octyl(phenyl)-N
N-Diisobutylcarbamoyl-Methylphosphine Oxide (CMPO)
PERFORMANCE
PLUTONIUM
PURIFICATION
Plutonium Facility
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RECOVERY
SAFETY
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUTIONS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
Transuranic (TRU)
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VOLUME
WASTES