Solvent extraction and recovery of the transuranic elements from waste solutions using the TRUEX process

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5501989

Horwitz, E P; Schulz, W W

High-level liquid waste is produced during the processing of irradiated nuclear fuel by the PUREX process. In some cases the treatment of metallurgical scrap to recover the plutonium values also generates a nitric acid waste solution. Both waste solutions contain sufficient concentrations of transuranic elements (mostly /sup 241/Am) to require handling and disposal as a TRU waste. This paper describes a recently developed solvent extraction/recovery process called TRUEX (transuranium extraction) which is designed to reduce the TRU concentration in nitric waste solutions to <100 nCi/g of disposed form (1,2). (In the USA, non-TRU waste is defined as <100 nCi of TRU/g of disposed form.) The process utilizes PUREX process solvent (TBP in a normal paraffinic hydrocarbon or carbon tetrachloride) modified by a small concentration of octyl(phenyl)-N,N-diisobutylcarbamoylmethylphosphine oxide (abbrev. CMPO). The presence of CMPO enables the modified PUREX process solvent to extract trivalent actinides as well as tetra- and hexavalent actinides. A major feature of the TRUEX process is that is is applicable to waste solutions containing a wide range of nitric acid, salt, and fission product concentrations and at the same time is very compatible with existing liquid-liquid extraction technology as usually practiced in a fuel reprocessing plant. To date the process has been tested on two different types of synthetic waste solutions. The first solution is a typical high-level nitric acid waste and the second a typical waste solution generated in metallurgical scrap processing. Results are discussed. 4 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA); Atomics International Div., Richland, WA (USA). Rockwell Hanford Operations
• DOE Contract Number: W-31-109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 5501989
• Report Number(s): CONF-850947-2; ON: DE85009674
• Resource Relation: Conference: International meeting on solvent extraction and ion exchange in the nuclear fuel cycle, Harwell, UK, 3 Sep 1985
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
AMERICIUM
RECOVERY
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
PLUTONIUM
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLOWSHEETS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
NITRIC ACID
PUREX PROCESS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
ACTINIDES
DATA
DIAGRAMS
ELEMENTS
EXTRACTION
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INORGANIC ACIDS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
METALS
NUMERICAL DATA
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REPROCESSING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
TRANSPLUTONIUM ELEMENTS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing
400105 - Separation Procedures