Continuous extraction and separation of Am(III) and Cm(III) using a highly practical diamide amine extractant

Suzuki, Hideya; Tsubata, Yasuhiro   ; Kurosawa, Tatsuya*; Sagawa, Hiroshi*; Matsumura, Tatsuro  

A highly practical diamide-type extractant, which is an alkyl diamide amine with 2-ethylhexyl alkyl chains (ADAAM(EH)), was investigated for mutual separation of Am(III) and Cm(III). ADAAM(EH) is a multidentate ligand with one soft N-donor atom and two hard O-donor atoms in its central frame. This tridentate arrangement of donor atoms provides selective binding to Am(III) compared to that with Cm(III) in highly acidic media, resulting in separation factors of up to 5.5. A continuous liquid-liquid extraction and stripping test was conducted using a multistage countercurrent mixer-settler extractor with ADAAM(EH) in n-dodecane. In this test, separation of Am(III) and Cm(III) was achieved with very high yield.