Radiolysis of C5-BTBP in cyclohexanone irradiated in the absence and precence of an aqueous phase
Journal article, 2012
Spent nuclear fuel contains many highly ra-
dioactive species; hence solvents used in reprocessing will
be subjected to radiolysis. In this study, solvents containing
one of the BTBP molecules intended for the separation of
trivalent actinides and lanthanides, the so called C5-BTBP,
have been subjected to radiolysis and hydrolysis. We present
here that this compound shows a dramatic decrease in both
distribution ratios and separation factor when irradiated with
higher doses up to 50 kGy; particularly in the presence of
an aqueous phase. Furthermore, fast hydrolytic degradation is
observed, which significantly contributes to the overall degree
of decomposition. This is supported by speciation studies per-
formed by HPLC and LC-MS methods. Proposed structures
of the highest-yield degradation products are presented and
they seem to confirm previously drawn structures for these
products. From these studies it can be concluded that the
presence of nitric acid or nitrate during irradiation leads to
higher content of species containing keto groups.
Actinide
BTBP
Diluent
Partitioning
Radiolysis
Lanthanide
Degradation product
Solvent extraction
Author
Anna Fermvik
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Industrial Materials Recycling
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nuclear Chemistry
Emma Aneheim
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nuclear Chemistry
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Industrial Materials Recycling
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
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Industrial Materials Recycling
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nuclear Chemistry
Christian Ekberg
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nuclear Chemistry
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Industrial Materials Recycling
Radiochimica Acta
0033-8230 (ISSN)
Vol. 100 4 273-282Subject Categories
Chemical Sciences
DOI
10.1524/ract.2012.1908