Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology

A selective separation of Actinide(Ⅲ) by a nPr-BTP/nitrobezene extraction system was studied. The nPr-BTP (2.6-Bis-(5.6-n-propyl-1.2.4-triazin-3-yl)-pyridine) of a environmentally -friendly CHN type was self-synthesized and its compatability with diluent and stability with nitric acid were investigated. At the 0.1M nPr-BTP/nitrobenzene-1M HNO3 and O/A=2, extraction yields of Am used as a representative of Actinide(Ⅲ) and Eu were about 85% and 8%, respectively, and the other RE elements such as Nd, Ce and Y were extracted less than 3% (separation factor of Am and Eu was about 60). Thus, there was no problems in the selective extraction of Actinide(Ⅲ) from RE. The stripping yield of Am with 0.05M HNO3 at O/A=1, however, was about 43% and the maximum stripping yield was 65% at O/A=0.3. It is necessary to develop the stripping system including the stripping agent instead of nitric acid solution.

Keywords

Actinide(Ⅲ),Rare Earth elements,BTP(Bis triazinyl pyridine),Solvent extraction,Selective separation