May 15 – 20, 2022
Casino Conference Centre
Europe/Prague timezone

Selective actinide(III) separation using 2,6-bis[1-(propan-1-ol)-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]pyridine (PyTri-Diol) in the innovative-SANEX process: laboratory scale counter current centrifugal contactor demonstration

May 19, 2022, 10:30 AM
30m
Red Hall

Red Hall

Invited Separation Methods, Speciation Separation & Speciation

Speaker

Dr Andreas Wilden (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH)

Description

An innovative-SANEX process for the selective separation of the trivalent actinides americium and curium from a simulated PUREX raffinate solution was successfully demonstrated on the laboratory scale using a 16-stage 1 cm annular centrifugal contactor setup. The solvent was composed of 0.2 mol L−1 N,N,N',N'-tetra-n-octyl-diglycolamide (TODGA) and 5% v/v 1-octanol in a kerosene diluent. Zr(IV) and Pd(II) co-extraction was prevented using trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (CDTA) as a masking agent in the feed. The actinide(III) selective back-extraction was achieved using 2,6-bis[1-(propan-1-ol)-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]pyridine (PyTri-Diol) in 0.45 mol L−1 HNO3 as a CHON alternative to the sulfur-containing stripping agent used in a previous version of the innovative-SANEX process. The new process described in this paper showed excellent performance for the recovery of An(III). An An(III) product with a quasi-quantitative recovery of americium and curium (≥99.9%) and very good separation from fission and activation products was obtained (decontamination factors ≥4,000). Only a slight contamination with Zr and Ru was observed. This test demonstrates the successful use of molecules containing only carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms (so-called CHON molecules) for the selective separation of An(III) from a simulated PUREX raffinate solution. By avoiding sulfur- or phosphorous-containing molecules, the generation of secondary radioactive waste during process operation can be reduced drastically. The results of the demonstration test will be presented and discussed.

Primary author

Dr Andreas Wilden (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH)

Co-authors

Dimitri Schneider (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH) Zaina Paparigas (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH) Maximilian Henkes (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH) Fabian Kreft (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH) Andreas Geist (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)) Eros Mossini (Politecnico di Milano) Elena Macerata (Politecnico di Milano) Mario Mariani (Politecnico di Milano) Maria Chiara Gullo (Università di Parma) Alessandro Casnati (Università di Parma) Giuseppe Modolo (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH)

Presentation materials