Separation of Minor Actinides from Lanthanides by Dithiophosphinic Acid Extractants
The selective extraction of the minor actinides (Am(III) and Cm(III)) from the lanthanides is an important part of advanced reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. This separation would allow the Am/Cm to be fabricated into targets and recycled to a reactor and the lanthanides to be dispositioned. This separation is difficult to accomplish due to the similarities in the chemical properties of the trivalent actinides and lanthanides. Research efforts at the Idaho National Laboratory have identified an innovative synthetic pathway yielding new regiospecific dithiophosphinic acid (DPAH) extractants. The synthesis provides DPAH derivatives that can address the issues concerning minor actinide separation and extractant stability. For this work, two new symmetric DPAH extractants have been prepared. The use of these extractants for the separation of minor actinides from lanthanides will be discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-99ID-13727
- OSTI ID:
- 940070
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-07-13474; TRN: US0806985
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ISEC 2008,Tucson, Arizona,09/15/2008,09/19/2008
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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