Abstract
The utility of recovering cocrystallized Np, Pu, and Am from a uranyl nitrate hexahydrate crystalline phase has been examined. Progressive dissolution studies were carried out on samples of either Np(VI), Pu(VI), or Am(VI) cocrystallized with uranyl nitrate hexahydrate, resulting in a linear relationship between the amount of actinides dissolved as a function of volume of HNO3 added, which indicates homogeneous distribution of the transuranic species throughout the crystalline solid. The ratio of the concentration of U to the heavier actinides was maintained over the entire dissolution and mimicked that of the starting cocrystallization solution. A series of five crystallization-dissolution-recrystallization cycles of uranyl nitrate hexahydrate from nitric acid have been achieved in the presence of Am(VI), where the behavior of Am(VI) followed that of U(VI) for each step of all five cycles. Negligible reduction of Am(VI) to Am(III) was observed between each recrystallization cycle. These results indicate the utility of a group hexavalent actinide cocrystallization approach toward used nuclear fuel recycling.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4756-4761 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 11 2020 |
Funding
This work was sponsored by the Nuclear Energy University Program, Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, under Award No. DE-NE0008653, for which the authors are very grateful. We would also like to acknowledge Dr. Bruce A. Moyer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for fruitful discussion of experimental design. The authors are also very grateful to the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) for use of their radiological fume hoods and glovebox. The transuranic isotopes used in this research were supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science by the Isotope Program in the Office of Nuclear Physics. This article has been authored by Texas A&M University, under Award No. DE- NE0008653 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Office of Nuclear Physics | |
| U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Office of Nuclear Energy | |
| Nuclear Energy University Program |