A novel method for separating Cs from liquid radioactive waste using ionic liquids and a selective extractant.

Selective separation of Cs from liquid radioactive waste by 'precipitation' was observed in a hydrophobic ionic liquid containing the Cs-selective extractant dicyclohexano-18-crown-6. The precipitate was formed by the cation exchange mechanism, which simplified the treatment of Cs after extraction. Solid-liquid extraction is a more economical extraction system than liquid-liquid extraction because it uses smaller quantities of ionic liquids. This work showed the possibility of developing a new method for removing Cs from liquid radioactive waste using solid-liquid phase separation instead of the conventional liquid-liquid separation in an ionic liquid extraction system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]