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In this paper the development and laboratory-scale demonstration of a novel “innovative-SANEX” (Selective Actinide Extraction) process using annular centrifugal contactors is presented. In this strategy, a solvent comprising the N,N,N’,N’-tetraoctyldiglycolamide (TODGA) extractant with addition of 5 vol.-% 1-octanol showed very good extraction efficiency of Am(III) and Cm(III) together with the trivalent lanthanides (Ln(III)) from simulated Plutonium Uranium Refining by Extraction (PUREX) raffinate solution without 3rd phase formation. Cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA) was used as masking agent to prevent the co-extraction of Zr and Pd. An(III) and Ln(III) were co-extracted from simulated PUREX raffinate, and the loaded solvent was subjected to several stripping steps. The An(III) were selectively stripped using the hydrophilic complexing agent SO3-Ph-BTP (2,6-bis(5,6-di(sulfophenyl)-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridine). For the subsequent stripping of the Ln(III), a citric acid based solution was used. A...

The direct selective separation of the trivalent actinides americium and curium from a simulated Plutonium Uranium Refining by EXtraction (PUREX) raffinate solution by a continuous counter-current solvent extraction process using miniature annular centrifugal contactors was demonstrated on a laboratory scale. In a 32-stage spiked test (12 stages for extraction, 16 stages for scrubbing, and 4 stages for Am/Cm stripping), an extractant mixture of CyMe4BTBP and TODGA in a TPH/1-octanol mixture was used. The co-extraction of some fission and corrosion product elements, such as zirconium and molybdenum, was prevented by using oxalic acid. Co-extracted palladium was selectively stripped using an L-cysteine scrubbing solution and the trivalent actinides were selectively stripped using a glycolic acid-based stripping solution. It was demonstrated that a selective extraction and high recovery of > 99.4% of the trivalent minor actinides was achieved with low contamination by fission and corrosion products. The prod...

During the partitioning of trivalent actinides from High Active Raffinate (HAR) solutions, most processes have to cope with an undesirable co-extraction of some of the fission products. Four hydrophilic complexing agents of the group of polyaminocarboxylic acids, namely EDTA, HEDTA, DTPA, and CTDA were tested and compared for their ability to complex fission products in a simulated PUREX raffinate solution, thereby preventing their extraction into an organic solvent. Several solvents, based on TODGA and the DIAMEX reference molecule DMDOHEMA, that are commonly known to show quite high Zr and Pd co-extraction, were studied. Our investigations ultimately resulted in a substitution of oxalic acid and HEDTA by cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA). A small addition of this hydrophilic complexing agent to the feed decreased the distribution ratios of Zr from 100 to 90% of the metal retained in the feed solution. The extraction of trivalent...

Within the framework of our research activities related to the partitioning of spent nuclear-fuel solutions, the direct selective extraction of trivalent actinides from a simulated PUREX raffinate was studied using a mixture of CyMe4BTBP and TODGA (1-cycle SANEX). The solvent showed a high selectivity for trivalent actinides with a high lanthanide separation factor. However, the coextraction of some fission product elements (Cu, Ni, Zr, Mo, Pd, Ag, and Cd) from a simulated PUREX raffinate was observed, with distribution ratios up to 30 (Cu). The extraction of Zr and Mo could be suppressed using oxalic acid but the use of the well-known Pd complexant N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-ethylendiamin-N,N',N'-triacetic acid (HEDTA) was unsuccessful. During screening experiments with different amino acids and derivatives, the sulfur-bearing amino acid L-Cysteine showed good complexation of Pd and prevented its extraction into the organic phase without influencing the extraction of the trivalent actinides Am (III) and Cm (III). The optimization studies included the influence of the L-Cysteine and HNO3 concentration and the kinetics of the extraction. The development of a process-like extraction series showed very promising results in view of further optimizing the process. A strategy for a single-cycle process is proposed within this article.

International audience; The kinetics of metal transfer in the system Eu 3+ /HNO 3 //TODGA/[C 1 C 4 im][Tf 2 N], where TODGA is N,N,N9,N9-tetraoctyl diglycolamide, is shown to depend on the chemical conditions (nitric acid and TODGA concentrations) and the time needed to reach equilibrium which may vary from less than 10 min to more than 4 h. At [HNO 3 ] = 4 M, a detailed kinetic study is performed for two different concentrations of TODGA. It is shown that the time required for water and acid solubilisation in the IL phase is very short, as is the time for IL solubilisation in the aqueous phase. By contrast, the extraction of Eu(III) takes more than 100 min to be completed and depends on the TODGA concentration. On the basis of these experimental facts, a simple kinetic model is proposed which is able to account for the data.

Various organophosphorus ligands with a combination of different donor sites were synthesized and evaluated by solvent extraction studies for the complexation of Am(III)/Eu(III). Among the ligands with a glycolamide backbone, those with mixed amide and PO donor sites and a central oxygen or nitrogen atom showed a reasonable extraction of Am(III) and Eu(III). Ligands with a central oxygen atom exhibited selectivity towards Eu(III), and those with a central nitrogen atom towards Am(III). Ligands with PS donor sites and a glycolamide backbone did not show any reasonable extraction. Amongst the ligands with a malonamide backbone, high extraction efficiency was observed for the ligand with electron-rich substituents on phosphorus, however, with almost no discrimination between Am(III) and Eu(III). The extraction efficiency of different ligands towards Eu(III) was confirmed by microcalorimetry.

Different types of water-soluble ligands were synthesized and their capability was evaluated by solvent extraction studies to complex trivalent actinides and suppress their extraction by a strong lipophilic ligand, such as TODGA. The back extraction efficiency of hydrophilic diglycolamide (DGA) derivatives with a varying number of ethylene glycol groups, or containing sodium acetate moieties on the amidic nitrogen shows a decrease in back-extraction efficiency with increasing number of ethylene glycol units on the amidic nitrogen at various pH values of the aqueous phase. Among the P-S donating ligands only the ligand with a malonamide backbone exhibits a high reverse extraction efficiency, although, with no selectivity for americium. Within the water-soluble tripodal ligands, i.e. the amide derivatives of nitrilotriacid with N,N-dimethyl and N, N-bis(hydroxyethyl) moieties, the first one shows a pronounced selectivity for Am(III) over Eu(III), with a maximum separation factor of 11.1, while the latter one more efficiently complexes the radionuclides in the aqueous phase with a maximum separation factor of 5. Isothermal microcalorimetry experiments of the complexation of Eu(III) by a selected series of ligands confirm the observed trend in the back extraction properties.

The synthesis, lanthanide complexation, and solvent ex- traction of actinide(III) and lanthanide(III) radiotracers from nitric acid solutions by a phenanthroline-derived quadridentate bis-triazine ligand are described. The ligand separates Am(III) and Cm(III) from the lanthanides with remarkably high efficiency, high selectivity, and fast extraction kinetics compared to its 2,2'-bipyridine counterpart. Structures of the 1:2 bis-complexes of the ligand with Eu(III) and Yb(III) were elucidated by X-ray crystallography and force field calculations, respec-tively. The Eu(III) bis-complex is the first 1:2 bis-complex of a quadridentate bis-triazine ligand to be characterized by crystallography. The faster rates of extraction were verified by kinetics measurements using the rotating membrane cell technique in several diluents. The improved kinetics of metal ion extraction are related to the higher surface activity of the ligand at the phase interface. The improvement in the ligand's properties on replacing the bipyridine unit with a phenanthroline unit far exceeds what was anticipated based on ligand design alone.

Various ligands with structural modifications of the N,N,N',N'-tetraoctyl-3-oxapentanediamide (TODGA) skeleton were synthesised in good yields. These modifications include (1) the increase in chain length from one carbon to two carbons between the central ether oxygen atom and the amide moieties, (2) the addition of substituents on the carbon between the central oxygen atom and the amide moieties on one and both sides of the central oxygen, (3) the replacement of the central oxygen by a (substituted) nitrogen atom and (4) synthesis of a rigidified glycolamide. The effect of the structural modifications on their extraction behaviours toward Am(III) and Eu(III) at various nitric acid concentrations was studied. In most of the cases, the extraction does not exceed that of TODGA in the entire acidity range of 0.001-4mol/l HNO3. The extraction behaviour of monomethyl-TODGA derivative 10a resembles that of TODGA at high nitric acid concentrations. However, at lower acidities, its D values are much lower, which is beneficial for possible back-extraction steps. The aza-tripodal ligands 18a,b show reverse extraction properties compared to TODGA as far as the pH influence is concerned: at pH 2, the DAm values are 49.9 and 3.1, the DEu values are 5.9 and 0.2, and the SAm/Eu values are 8 and 11, respectively.