Preparation of extractant-impregnated porous sheets for high-speed separation of radionuclides

Ishihara, Ryo*; Umeno, Daisuke*; Saito, Kyoichi*; Asai, Shiho; Sakurai, Satoshi ; Shinohara, Nobuo ; Sugo, Takanobu*

A novel method of preparing for an extractant-impregnated porous sheet with high values of adsorption rate and capacity for metal ions is described. First, an epoxy-group-containing polymer chain was appended onto a commercially available porous sheet by radiation-induced graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). Second, -octadecylamine was introduced into the graft chain via an epoxy-ring opening reaction. Third, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate (HDEHP) was impregnated onto the -octadecylamino group. An yttrium solution was forced to permeate through the pores of the HDEHP-impregnated porous sheet. The higher permeation rate of the yttrium solution led to the higher adsorption rate of yttrium ions because of a negligible diffusional mass-transfer resistance of the metal ions to the HDEHP impregnated.