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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...

We report first results on the development of a new system for a GANEX 2nd cycle developed by the “ACSEPT” project. A solvent system consisting of 0.2 M N,N,N’,N’-tetra-n-octyl-diglycolamide (TODGA) + 0.5 M N,N’-dimethyl-N,N’-dioctyl-2(2-hexyloxyethyl)malonamide (DMDOHEMA) in kerosene was formulated which co-extracts TRU elements and lanthanides with high distribution ratios and allows for Pu(IV) loading up to ∼40 gaL–1 at 3 M HNO3. Neptunium redox chemistry and extraction in the TODGA/DMDOHEMA phase has been studied in order to identify optimum conditions for Np extraction. Further, the behaviour of non-lanthanide fission products was investigated to identify a substitute for oxalic acid (used as a Zr masking agent in DIAMEX processes where there is no Pu in the feed). 1,2-cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA) efficiently suppresses the extraction of Zr and also masks Pd which would otherwise be co-extracted.

The synthesis, lanthanide complexation and solvent extraction of An(III) and Ln(III) radiotracers from nitric acid solutions by a pre-organized, phenanthroline-derived bis-triazine ligand CyMe4-BTPhen are described. It was found that the ligand separated Am(III) and Cm(III) from the lanthanides with remarkably high efficiency, high selectivity, and faster extraction kinetics compared to its 2,2’-bipyridine counterpart CyMe4-BTBP. The origins of the ligands extraction properties were established by a combination of solvent extraction experiments, X-ray crystallography, kinetics and surface tension measurements and lanthanide NMR spectroscopy.

The development of an innovative-SANEX process for the selective recovery of trivalent actinides from PUREX raffinate using a TODGA/1-octanol based solvent is presented. CDTA was used to efficiently mask Zr and Pd. Two options were studied for the selective An(III) stripping. First, a glycine-buffered DTPA solution was successfully employed. A great improvement was the use of the hydrophilic SO3-Ph-BTP, which allowed the selective An(III) stripping even at 0.5 mol/L HNO3 without using buffering or salting-out agents, making the advanced partitioning process easier and more efficient. High Ln/Am separation factors were achieved in single centrifugal contactor tests.

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.

The extraction of uranyl from acidic (HNO(3)) aqueous solutions toward an ionic liquid phase, C(1)-C(4)-imTf(2)N (1-methyl,3-butylimidazolium Tf(2)N), has been investigated as a function of initial acid concentration and ligand concentration for two different extracting moieties: a classical malonamide, N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-dibutylmalonamide (DMDBMA) and a functionalized IL composed of the Tf(2)N(-) anion and an imidazolium cation on which a malonamide pattern has been grafted (FIL-MA). The extraction mechanism, as demonstrated through the influence of added C(1)-C(4)-imCl or added LiTf(2)N in the aqueous phase, is slightly different between the DMDBMA and FIL-MA extracting agents. Modeling of the extraction data evidences a double extraction mechanism, with cation exchange of UO(2)(2+)versus 2 H(+) for DMDBMA or versus C(1)-C(4) -im(+) and H(+) for FIL-MA at low acidic values, and through anion exchange of [UO(2)(NO(3))(3)](-)versus Tf(2)N(-) for both ligands at high HNO(3) concentrations. The FIL-MA molecule is more efficient than its classical DMDBMA parent.

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.

The quadridentate N-heterocyclic ligand 6-(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-3-yl)-2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridine (CyMe4-hemi-BTBP) has been synthesized and its interactions with Am(III), U(VI), Ln(III) and some transition metal cations have been evaluated by X-ray crystallographic analysis, Am(III)/Eu(III) solvent extraction experiments, UV absorption spectrophotometry, NMR studies and ESI-MS. Structures of 1 : 1 complexes with Eu(III), Ce(III) and the linear uranyl (UO22+) ion were obtained by X-ray crystallographic analysis, and they showed similar coordination behavior to related BTBP complexes. In methanol, the stability constants of the Ln(III) complexes are slightly lower than those of the analogous quadridentate bis-triazine BTBP ligands, while the stability constant for the Yb(III) complex is higher. 1H NMR titrations and ESI-MS with lanthanide nitrates showed that the ligand forms only 1 : 1 complexes with Eu(III), Ce(III) and Yb(III), while both 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 complexes were formed with La(III) and Y(III) in acetonitrile. A mixture of isomeric chiral 2 : 2 helical complexes was formed with Cu(I), with a slight preference (1.4 : 1) for a single directional isomer. In contrast, a 1 : 1 complex was observed with the larger Ag(I) ion. The ligand was unable to extract Am(III) or Eu(III) from nitric acid solutions into 1-octanol, except in the presence of a synergist at low acidity. The results show that the presence of two outer 1,2,4-triazine rings is required for the efficient extraction and separation of An(III) from Ln(III) by quadridentate N-donor ligands.

We have studied the extraction of four HA acids (HNO(3), HReO(4), HClO(4), HCl) to a hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide (BMI(+) Tf(2)N(-)) at room temperature, in a wide range of acidic concentrations in water. The effect of tributylphosphate (TBP) as co-solvent is investigated. According to experimental observations, water dragging to the IL phase increases with added TBP and/or acids. Acid extraction is found to be weak, however, for the four acids except for concentrated HNO(3) (3 M). Molecular dynamics simulations on model biphasic systems show that TBP is not surface active, but well dissolved in the IL. They also reveal the importance of HA acid model (either totally or half dissociated) and of the TBP content on acid extraction to the IL. Furthermore, they show that "the proton" can be extracted by TBP (H(3)O(+)(TBP)(3)"complex") without its A(-) conjugated base, via a cation transfer mechanism (BMI(+) transfer to water). Experiments and simulations show that TBP plays an important role in the mutual solubility between water and ionic liquid, by different amounts, depending on the HA acid. On the other hand, both approaches indicate that a HTf(2)N containing aqueous solution completely mixes with the [BMI][Tf(2)N] IL that contains the same Tf(2)N(-) anion.

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.

The new ligand 6,6''-bis(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-3-yl)-2,2':6',2''-terpyridine (CyMe(4)-BTTP) has been synthesized in 4 steps from 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine. Detailed NMR and mass spectrometry studies indicate that the ligand forms 1 : 2 complexes with lanthanide(iii) perchlorates where the aliphatic rings are conformationally constrained whereas 1 : 1 complexes are formed with lanthanide(iii) nitrates where the rings are conformationally mobile. An optimized structure of the 1 : 2 solution complex with Yb(iii) was obtained from the relative magnitude of the induced paramagnetic shifts. X-Ray crystallographic structures of the ligand and of its 1 : 1 complex with Y(iii) were also obtained. The NMR and mass spectra of [Pd(CyMe(4)-BTTP)](n)(2n+) are consistent with a dinuclear double helical structure (n = 2). In the absence of a phase-modifier, CyMe(4)-BTTP in n-octanol showed a maximum distribution coefficient of Am(iii) of 0.039 (+/-20%) and a maximum separation factor of Am(iii) over Eu(iii) of 12.0 from nitric acid. The metal(iii) cations are extracted as the 1 : 1 complex from nitric acid. The generally low distribution coefficients observed compared with the BTBPs arise because the 1 : 1 complex of CyMe(4)-BTTP is considerably less hydrophobic than the 1 : 2 complexes formed by the BTBPs. In M(BTTP)(3+) complexes, there is a competition between the nitrate ions and the ligand for the complexation of the metal.