Distribution Behavior of U(VI), Pu(IV), Am(III), and Zr(IV) with N,N-Dihexyl Octanamide Under Uranium-Loading Conditions

While the tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP)-based PUREX process has been the workhorse of the nuclear fuel reprocessing industry for the last four and a half decades, a few drawbacks associated with the use of TBP have caused concern to the separation scientists and technologists. These shortcomings may pose a serious challenge particularly during the reprocessing of (a) short cooled thermal reactor fuels, (b) fast reactor fuels with the larger Pu content and significantly higher burn up, and (c) while treating various waste streams for their disposal to the environment. The N,N-dialkyl aliphatic amides have received particular attention as alternate potential extractants for the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels in view of (a) the innocuous nature of their degradation products, namely, carboxylic acids/amines and (b) the possibility to incinerate the used solvent leading to reduced volume of secondary waste. The physical and chemical properties of these amides are influenced strongly by the nature of alkyl groups. The extractant N,N-dihexyl octanamide (DHOA) was found to be a promising candidate among a large number of extractants studied. Laboratory batch studies as well as mixer settler studies were performed under process conditions with DHOA and compared with those of TBP. DHOA was found to extract Pu(IV) more efficiently than TBP, both at trace-level concentration as well as under uranium loading conditions. In addition, the extraction behavior of Am(III) and Zr(IV) was studied at varying nitric acid concentrations (1 to 6 M). Extraction behavior of uranium at macroconcentrations (9.9 to 157.7 g/l) was carried out at different temperatures, and it was observed that DU decreased with the increase in U loading as well as with the increase of temperature (in the range 25 to 45°C) and that the two-phase reaction was exothermic in nature. Mixer settler studies on U(VI) revealed that DHOA is similar to TBP during the extraction cycle but better than TBP during the stripping cycle.