Extraction of Europium(III) and Cobalt(II) by N,N,N’,N’-Tetraoctyldiglycolamide and N,N,N’,N’-Tetrahexyldiglycolamide from Aqueous Acid Solutions

Abstract

One of the main concerns related to the disposal of high– level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW) generated after reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel is related to the presence within this waste of long-lived radionuclides (LLRNs). The LLRNs in the spent nuclear fuels are mostly the so-called minor actinides (neptunium (Np), americium (Am) and curium (Cm)) and certain fission products. Transmutation of LLRNs to short-lived or stable isotopes represents a viable nuclear waste management strategy to drastically reduce the time and space requirements for a geological repository of the remaining waste. To be able to destroy LLRNs in a transmutation process they must be separated from the rest of the HLLW. Therefore, the concept of partitioning and transmutation (P&T) has been proposed for treatment of HLLW. 1-3 The P&T concept imposes highly-set demands on recovery yields and decontamination factors of the separated species. In this context, there has been considerable interest in amide extractants for the extraction of