Simulation study of sludge precipitation in spent fuel reprocessing

Takeuchi, Masayuki; Aihara, Haruka; Nakahara, Masaumi; Tanaka, Kotaro*

Procedia Chemistry, 21, p.182 - 189, 2016/12

BB2016-0225.pdf:0.61MB

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proche.2016.10.026

A simulation technology with electrolyte thermodynamic model has been developed to evaluate the precipitation behavior in reprocessing solution based on nitric acid solution. The simulation results were compared with the experiment data from non-radioactive simulated HLLW with ten elements and Pu-Zr-Mo solution, and the reliability of the thermodynamic model was verified. Most of the precipitation species was zirconium molybdate hydrate from the both data. It is demonstrated that the chemical species and amount of the precipitation calculated by thermodynamic model reflected well that of experiments. This study has shown the thermodynamic simulation model is one of the useful tools to estimate the behavior of precipitation from the reprocessing solution.

Uranium and plutonium extraction by -dialkylamides using multistage mixer-settler extractors

Ban, Yasutoshi; Hotoku, Shinobu; Tsutsui, Nao; Suzuki, Asuka; Tsubata, Yasuhiro; Matsumura, Tatsuro

Procedia Chemistry, 21, p.156 - 161, 2016/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proche.2016.10.022

A continuous counter-current experiment was carried out to demonstrate the validity of a process using -dialkylamides for recovering U and Pu. This process consisted of two cycles, and the 1st cycle and the 2nd cycle employed -di(2-ethylhexyl)-2,2-dimethylpropanamide and -di(2-ethylhexyl)butanamide as extractants, respectively. The feed solution for the 1st cycle was 5.1 mol/dm (M) nitric acid containing 0.92 M U, 1.6 mM Pu, and 0.6 mM Np. The raffinate collected in the 1st cycle was used as the feed for the 2nd cycle. The ratios of U recovered in the U fraction and U-Pu fraction were 99.1% and 0.8%, respectively. The ratio of Pu recovered in the U-Pu fraction was 99.7%. The concentration ratio of U with respect to Pu in the U-Pu fraction was 9, and this indicated that Pu was not isolated. The decontamination factor of U with respect to Pu in the U fraction was obtained as 4.510. These results supported the validity of the proposed process.