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The solvent extraction of Am(VI) using centrifugal contactors

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Abstract

An engineering-scale centrifugal contactor test bed was built at Idaho National Laboratory to perform solvent extraction testing for the partitioning of hexavalent americium. The raffinate simulant feed was spiked with 243Am and 139Ce and treated with sodium bismuthate to oxidize americium to Am(VI), filtered and contacted with 1 M DAAP/dodecane using centrifugal contactors. Extraction efficiency comparable to batch contacts was obtained, indicating for the first time that Am(VI) can be maintained under process conditions. Contrary to expectations, stripping was not as effective as expected. However, this result may actually be advantageous to process design, since a scrub step, previously thought to be impossible due to rapid Am(VI) reduction, may now be considered for future flowsheet tests.

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Acknowledgments

Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, under the Fuel Cycle Research and Development Minor Actinide Separations σ-team; DOE-Idaho Operations Office contract DE-AC07-05ID14517.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aqueous Separations and Radiochemistry Department, Idaho National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID, 83415-4107, USA

    Bruce J. Mincher, Richard D. Tillotson, Troy Garn, Veronica Rutledge, Jack Law & Nicholas C. Schmitt

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  1. Bruce J. Mincher
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  2. Richard D. Tillotson
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  3. Troy Garn
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  4. Veronica Rutledge
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  5. Jack Law
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  6. Nicholas C. Schmitt
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Correspondence to Bruce J. Mincher.

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Mincher, B.J., Tillotson, R.D., Garn, T. et al. The solvent extraction of Am(VI) using centrifugal contactors. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 307, 1833–1836 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4397-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4397-6

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