Simultaneous separation of Am and Cm from Nd and Sm by multi-step extraction using the TODGA-DTPA-BA-HNO system

Sasaki, Yuji  ; Morita, Keisuke ; Matsumiya, Masahiko*; Nakase, Masahiko*

The simultaneous separation of Am and Cm from lanthanides is important for atomic energy fields. All lanthanides, Am, and Cm can be extracted by diglycolamide (DGA). In addition, relatively high separation factors between An and Ln were obtained by the extraction system of TODGA, DTPA (diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid) and HNO. In this work, DTPA-BA (diethylenetriamine-triacetic-bisamide), which is an improved version of DTPA, was employed for the separation of Ln and An. A relatively high separation factor (approximately 8) for actinides/lanthanides was obtained. Then, the multi-step extraction was performed. Thus, the recoveries of 94.7% for Nd and 4.7% for Am and Cm in organic phase, and 5.3% Nd and 95.3% for Am and Cm in aqueous phase were obtained.