Countercurrent Actinide Lanthanide Separation Process (ALSEP) Demonstration Test with a Simulated PUREX Raffinate in Centrifugal Contactors on the Laboratory Scale
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- Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany). Inst. for Energy and Climate Research (IEK)
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT) (Germany)
An Actinide Lanthanide Separation Process (ALSEP) for the separation of trivalent actinides (An(III)) from simulated raffinate solution was successfully demonstrated using a 32-stage 1 cm annular centrifugal contactor setup. The ALSEP solvent was composed of a mixture of 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (HEH[EHP]) and N,N,N',N'-tetra-(2-ethylhexyl)-diglycolamide (T2EHDGA) in n-dodecane. Flowsheet calculations and evaluation of the results were done using the Argonne’s Model for Universal Solvent Extraction (AMUSE) code using single-stage distribution data. The co-extraction of Zr(IV) and Pd(II) was prevented using CDTA (trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid) as a masking agent in the feed. For the scrubbing of co-extracted Mo; citrate-buffered acetohydroxamic acid was used. The separation of An(III) from the trivalent lanthanides (Ln(III)) was achieved using citrate-buffered diethylene-triamine-N,N,N',N",N"-pentaacetic acid (DTPA), and Ln(III) were efficiently back extracted using N,N,N',N'-tetraethyl-diglycolamide (TEDGA). A clean An(III) product was obtained with a recovery of 95% americium and curium. The Ln(III) were efficiently stripped; but the Ln(III) product contained 5% of the co-stripped An(III). The carryover of Am and Cm into the Ln(III) product is attributed to too few actinide stripping stages, which was constrained by the number of centrifugal contactors available. Improved separation would be achieved by increasing the number of An strip stages. The heavier lanthanides (Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, and Gd) and yttrium were mainly routed to the Ln product, whereas the lighter lanthanides (La and Ce) were mostly routed to the raffinate.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); Battelle Energy Alliance; European Commission (EC)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830; 00216406; 730227; AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1686100
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1701719
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-156146; INL/JOU-20-59768-Rev.000
- Journal Information:
- Applied Sciences, Vol. 10, Issue 20; ISSN 2076-3417
- Publisher:
- MDPICopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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