A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation ProcessPart 2: Ageing, Hydrolytic, and Radiolytic Stability
Journal article, 2011

The waste from nuclear power plants worldwide has to be isolated from man and his environment for about 100,000 years to equal the levels of natural uranium. If, however, the long-lived actinides could be separated from the spent fuel and transmuted, then the isolation time could be shortened to about 1,000 years. This does, however, require the selective separation of the actinides from the rest of the waste. Several processes exist for such a separation, of which one is the Group ActiNide Extraction (GANEX) process. A novel GANEX process has been developed at the Chalmers University of Technology utilizing the properties of already well known extractants by combining BTBP and TBP into one solvent. The stability provided by this GANEX solvent towards ageing, hydrolysis, and radiolysis has been investigated. The results show that the actinide distribution ratios are maintained after a long duration of contact with strong nitric acid. The solvent has also been found to be stable towards radiolysis up to 200 kGy in contact with 4 M nitric acid.

BTBP

TBP

hydrolysis

stability

radiolysis

GANEX

Author

Emma Aneheim

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nuclear Chemistry

Christian Ekberg

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nuclear Chemistry

Anna Fermvik

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nuclear Chemistry

Mark Foreman

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nuclear Chemistry

B. Gruner

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.

Z. Hajkova

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.

M. Kvicalova

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.

Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange

0736-6299 (ISSN) 1532-2262 (eISSN)

Vol. 29 2 157-175

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Areas of Advance

Energy

Subject Categories

Chemical Sciences

DOI

10.1080/07366299.2011.539462

More information

Latest update

1/30/2018