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A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX separation process. Part 1: Feasibility

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A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process. Part 1: Feasibility

Emma Aneheimab; Christian Ekbergab; Anna Fermvikab; Mark R. St. J. Foremanab; Teodora Retegana;
Gunnar Skarnemarka
a
Nuclear Chemistry, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of
Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden b Industrial Materials Recycling, Department of Chemical and
Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

Online publication date: 04 June 2010

To cite this Article Aneheim, Emma , Ekberg, Christian , Fermvik, Anna , Foreman, Mark R. St. J. , Retegan, Teodora and
Skarnemark, Gunnar(2010) 'A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process. Part 1: Feasibility', Solvent Extraction and
Ion Exchange, 28: 4, 437 — 458
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 Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange, 28: 437–458, 2010
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN 0736-6299 print / 1532-2262 online
DOI: 10.1080/07366299.2010.480930

A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process.

Part 1: Feasibility

Emma Aneheim1,2, Christian Ekberg1,2, Anna Fermvik1,2,

Mark R. St. J. Foreman1,2, Teodora Retegan1, and Gunnar Skarnemark1
1
Nuclear Chemistry, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers
University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
2
Industrial Materials Recycling, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering,
Downloaded By: [Aneheim, Emma] At: 13:34 9 June 2010

Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract: A GANEX (Group ActiNide EXtraction) separation system for transmuta-

tion has been developed. In this separation process the actinides should be extracted as
a group from the lanthanides and the fission and corrosion/activation products. This
can be achieved by combining BTBP (bis-triazine-bipyridine) with TBP (tri-butyl
phosphate) in cyclohexanone. From 4M nitric acid this organic system extracts the
actinides (log(DAm) ¼ 2.19, log(DPu) ¼ 2.31, log(DU) ¼ 1.03, log(DNp) ¼ 0.53) and
also separates them from the lanthanides (log(DLa) ¼ -2.0, log(DCe) ¼ -1.72, log(DNd)
¼ -1.05, log(DSm) ¼ -0.18, log(DEu) ¼ -0.02). One problem encountered is that some
of the fission and corrosion products are also extracted. The new system however still
looks feasible.

Keywords: Liquid-liquid extraction, GANEX, BTBP, TBP, actinides, lanthanides,

separation

INTRODUCTION

The waste from nuclear power plants all over the world has to be isolated from
man and his environment due to its high radiotoxicity. After being stored for
over 100,000 years the radiotoxicity of the waste equals natural uranium.[1] It
has been suggested that if the long-lived actinides could be separated from the
rest of the spent fuel, the storage time could be shortened to about 1000
years.[2, 3] This shortening of the storage time, however, requires selective

Address correspondence to Emma Aneheim, Department of Chemical and Biological

Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kärnkemi, Kemivägen 4, Gothenburg
41296, Sweden. E-mail: emma.aneheim@chalmers.se
 438 E. Aneheim et al.

separation of parts of the waste. By separating the elements into fractions they can
be treated in different ways and hence both the amount and radiotoxicity of the
waste can be lowered. For example, some of the long-lived actinides can be
irradiated with neutrons, and through nuclear reactions other nuclides that are
more short-lived or even stable can be formed; so-called transmutation.[4] It is
especially important to separate the long-lived actinides intended for transmuta-
tion from the lanthanides. This is due to the fact that some of the lanthanides have a
high neutron capture cross section resulting in serious scavenging of the neutrons
available. Therefore the presence of lanthanides in transmutation fuel would cause
an unwanted non-uniform heat distribution in the fuel during the irradiation.[5]
There are several different approaches towards a liquid-liquid extraction
separation method for transmutation. Earlier, the focus has primarily been on a
separation that will follow after a conventional PUREX process. One of these
concepts is to separate both the actinides and lanthanides from the PUREX
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raffinate and then in a second step separate the two from each other. Much
research has been performed on this concept but the two processes that have
been given the greatest interest are the TALSPEAK process[6] and the
DIAMEX/SANEX process.[1,7] Today, however, the focus, at least in
Europe, has been shifted towards a process that replaces PUREX by simulta-
neously removing all the actinides from the dissolved spent fuel. This concept
is called the GANEX (Group ActiNide EXtraction) process.[8] This renders a
single process for separation of the actinides from both the lanthanides as well
as the rest of the fission and corrosion/activation products. This GANEX
separation can be done either directly from the dissolved spent fuel or from
dissolved fuel where the bulk part of the uranium already has been removed.
This work focuses on the latter alternative.
Investigations of a ternary system containing cyclohexanone as diluent
and the two extractants BTBP and TBP for the extraction of actinides have
been performed. The BTBP molecules (Fig. 1) have a well documented ability
to separate trivalent and pentavalent actinides from trivalent lanthanides.[9,10]
TBP on the other hand (Fig. 2), has been known since the 1950s to extract
uranium and plutonium.[11] By combining these two molecules the intention
was to be able to extract not only the tetravalent and hexavalent actinides but

N N
N N
R N N R
N N
R R

Figure 1. BTBP (bis-triazin-bipyridine).

 A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process 439

P
O O
O

Figure 2. TBP (tri-butyl phosphate).

also the trivalent and pentavalent ones from the dissolved spent fuel. At the
same time all the actinides should also be separated from the lanthanides as
well as the fission and corrosion/activation products. In this way the compli-
cated process of redox control of plutonium and neptunium can be avoided.
Below follow short descriptions of the aims of the various experiments
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related to these investigations.

Aim 1 – Reactivity

The aim of the experiments in this section was to determine if the extracting
molecules (BTBP and TBP) present in the organic system would react with
each other or not. A reaction between the two extractants is unwanted since it
would complicate the system and therefore make any future computer model-
ing, which is necessary for real life process applications, much more difficult.
It is already known that trimethyl phosphate can act as an electrophilic
methylation reagent[12] and therefore it is possible for TBP to react in the
same way. If this reaction occurs then the nitrogens on the BTBP core
molecule would be alkylated and the separate complex-formation ability of
both TBP and BTBP might very well be lost. If a reaction between BTBP and
TBP would occur it should be more or less the same for all types of BTBP
since the side chains on the BTBP would most likely not be involved.
If the molecules did not react with each other it was also important to
establish that the two molecules did not associate with each other in the extracted
complex but extracted independently. This was tested by making several screen-
ing extractions. These tests also served as an indication whether or not all the
actinides could be extracted and, in the same time, be separated from the
lanthanides as well as the fission and corrosion/activation products, as presumed.

Aim 2 – Extraction

The aim of the experiments in this section was to, under process like condi-
tions, confirm the indications of extractions given in the previous section. To
do this the aqueous phase metal ion concentrations were targeted to be close to
 440 E. Aneheim et al.

those found in real dissolved spent fuel, except for the radionuclides used
(63Ni, 152Eu, 235U, 237Np, 238Pu, 241Am). These concentrations and also the
composition of the dissolved fuel varies a lot between different sources [13–15]
depending on fuel type, burn-up, cooling time, the type of cladding used, and
if the cladding is dissolved together with the fuel or not, etc. The amount of
corrosion products present in a proposed GANEX process is also difficult to
estimate since it would depend on many different factors.[16] Not only would
there already be an amount of activation products present in the dissolved
spent fuel but there would also be a continuous production of corrosion
products in the extraction process due to dissolution, erosion, and wear of
the equipment. They are nevertheless important to consider and extractions of
actinides, lanthanides, and fission products as well as corrosion/activation
products were performed.
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Aim 3 – Loading

To ensure that the actinide extraction will not be suppressed by the large
amounts of metals which will be present in process-scale applications, a
loading extraction was performed. In this extraction the actinides and one of
the lanthanides were extracted from a highly acidic aqueous phase loaded with
fission products.

EXPERIMENTAL

In all of the following experiments the composition of the organic phase that
combines BTBP with TBP is: 0.01 M of BTBP (C5- or CyMe4-) diluted in
cyclohexanone with an addition of 30 volume % of TBP. The cyclohexanone
was chosen as diluent due to the fact that is has shown to have fast kinetics for
the BTBP molecules[19] and that it also dissolves a reasonable amount of the
BTBP. The composition of the organic phase with C5-BTBP (Fig. 3 Left) will
from now on be referred to as “GANEX solvent 1” and the composition with

N N N N
N N N N
N N N N
N N N N

Figure 3. Left: C5-BTBP (6,60 -Bis(5,6-dipenthyl-[1,2,4]triazin-3-yl)[2,20 ]bipyridine).

Right: CyMe4-BTBP (6,60 Bis(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-benzo[1,2,4]tria-
zin-3-yl)[2,20 ]bipyridine).
 A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process 441

CyMe4-BTBP (Fig. 3 Right) will be referred to as “GANEX solvent 2.” C5-

BTBP was used for the initial experiments due to the limited amounts avail-
able of CyMe4-BTBP.

Reagents and Material

The BTBP molecules used were synthesized as described in reference 17[17]

and provided by Reading University, UK. All other inactive reagents used
were commercially available and of analytical grade (see Tables 1 and 2)
except for RhNO3 which was recycled from an old stock in house.
All radionuclides used in the experiments were added as tracers originat-
ing from stock solutions. The preparation of the stock solution containing
152
Eu and 241Am (0.2 MBq/mL and 2 MBq/mL, respectively) has been
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Table 1. List of inorganic chemicals used in the experiments

Substance Brand Purity (if available)

AgNO3 May & Baker pro analysi >99.9%

Ba(NO3)2 Merck >99%
Cd(NO3)2x4H2O Fischer Scientific certified reagent
Ce(NO3)3x6H2O Fluka puriss
Co(NO3)2x6H2O Fluka purum p.a. >99.0%
Cr(NO3)3x9H2O Riedel de Haën AG. pure cryst.
CsNO3 Merck extra pure
Fe(NO3)3x9H2O Merck pro analysi >99%
HNO3 Sigma Aldrich 69% puriss p.a.
KMnO4 Merck pro analysi
La(NO3)3x6H2O Riedel de Haën AG >99%
MnSO4x1H2O Merck pro analyze >99%
MoO3 Fluka purum p.a. 99.7%
NaCO3 Fluka wasserfrei purum p.a.>99.0%
NaNO3 Riedel de Haën AG p.a.
Nd(NO3)3x6H2O Fluka puriss
Pd(NO3)2x2H2O Fluka purum >97%
RbNO3 Merck 99%
Sb2O3 Fluka purum  99.5%
SeO2 Fluka purum
Sm(NO3)3x6H2O Fluka purum >98%
SnO2 Fluka purum
Sr(NO3)2 Merck pro analysi, wasserfrei 99%
Te Fluka puriss >99.999%
Y(NO3)3 Fluka puriss 99%
ZrO(NO3)2x5H20 ICN K&K Laboratories inc. -
 442 E. Aneheim et al.

Table 2. List of organic chemicals used in the experiments

Substance Brand Purity

cyclohexanone Acros Organics 99.8% extra pure

TBP (tri-butyl phosphate) Fluka purum >97%
ethanol BDH Pro Labo 95%
dichloromethane Acros Organics pure >99%
tri-ethyl amine Riedel de Haën AG purum >99%

previously described.[18] Both the stock solution of 237Np (6 kBq/mL) and

238
Pu (10 MBq/mL) were prepared by dissolving the oxides (obtained from
AEA Technologies) in nitric acid. The radiochemical purity of 238Pu is
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>99.95% according to activity and >89.90% according to mass and the purity
of 237Np is >99.95%. The 63Ni stock solution (0.3 MBq/mL) was obtained in
0.1 M nitric acid from Amersham and then diluted. The stock solution of 235U
(0.05 MBq/mL) was prepared by dissolving uranyl nitrate enriched to 84.88%
(obtained from the Belgian atomic energy commission- today SCK-CEN) in
6 M HNO3.

Extraction Experiments

The standard procedure for all extraction experiments is explained below and
is valid unless otherwise stated.
The samples were done in duplicates or triplicates and both the organic and
the aqueous phases were pre equilibrated with the other phase, i.e. the organic
phase was pre-equilibrated with the water phase and the water phase was pre
equilibrated with cyclohexanone containing 30% TBP without any BTBP present.
When radioactive tracers were used the water phases used for pre-equilibration
were without metals. The actinides (235U, 237Np, 238Pu, 241Am), one lanthanide
(152Eu) and one of the corrosion products (63Ni) were in all cases added to the
aqueous phase in the form of radioactive tracers in small quantities (10–20 μL).
400–500 μL of organic phase was contacted with an equal amount of
aqueous phase in small (3.5 mL) glass vials. The contacting was performed by
vigorous hand shaking in a thermal isolated canister for 10 minutes. This time
should be sufficient to reach equilibrium since both CyMe4-BTBP and
TBP have fast kinetics.[19,20] After letting the phases separate, an aliquot
of 200–300 μL was removed from each phase for analysis. Excepted from this
were all inactive analyzes made with ICP-OES. In this case the 200–300 μL
aliquot was only removed from the aqueous phase and compared with a sample
removed from the aqueous phase after pre-equilibration but before extraction.
 A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process 443

Analysis

The samples with 152Eu, 235U, and 241Am, were all analyzed using a HPGe
(High Purity Germanium) detector (Ortec, GEM 15180-S) and Genie 2000 3.1
(Canberra) software for evaluation.
The samples with 63Ni and 238Pu were analyzed using liquid scintillation
counting (Wallac 1414 WinSpectral).
The 237Np samples were analyzed using a NaI(Tl) detector (Intertechnique,
CG 4000, Gamma Counter). In order to take the extraction of Pa impurities
present in the Np stock solution into account, the measurements were repeated
several times under up to four half lives of 233Pa (t1/2 ¼ 27d) until the values of
DNp were found stable. Due to the low activity of the stock solution the
counting time for the 237Np samples were set to 100 minutes, resulting in a
total number of counts >4000 for all aqueous phases and >11000 for all organic
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phases, thus resulting in a counting uncertainty of less than 2%.

The inactive metals were analyzed using ICP-OES (Thermo iCAP 6500
Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer) and comparing
the aqueous phase before and after extraction. With this method, the actual
detection limit is close to D¼0.01 (logD ¼ -2). Thus all values lower than
that have been set to this value.
In all cases, uncertainties have been calculated using error propagation
based on measurement statistics.

PART 1: REACTIVITY – EXPERIMENTAL

Interaction Tests

All Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)-tests were performed by comparing a

very small volume (a spot) of the sample to reference samples on the same
silica plate. The BTBP-molecules were detected using a short wave UV-lamp
and to detect the TBP-molecule the whole plate was dipped in a colouring
solution (KMnO4 and NaCO3 in water) and heated. By comparing the Rf
values in the GANEX solvent to that of standard samples it can be seen
whether or not the BTBP and the TBP molecule have reacted with each other.
Several tests were made to determine the best composition of the mobile
phase for the TLC-tests using different concentrations of ethanol and dichlor-
omethane. A mobile phase consisting of 25% ethanol in dichloromethane was
chosen. A drip of tri-ethyl amine was also added to 10 ml of the mobile phase
to diminish the blurriness of the detected spots by making the BTBP bind
harder to the acid sites of the silica on the TLC-plates.[21]
The first test was performed as stated above and on the same day as
the GANEX solvent 1 was prepared. GANEX solvent 1 (diluted with dichlor-
omethane) was compared with pure C5-BTBP dissolved in acetone and a third
 444 E. Aneheim et al.

sample consisting of the first two ones on top of each other. The molecules
were then detected and the Rf-values compared.
The GANEX solvent 1 was then left overnight in room temperature. The
next day the TLC-experiment was repeated exactly as described above but with
the addition of a fourth sample consisting of TBP (diluted with dichloromethane)
to ensure that the spot developed with the coloring solution actually was TBP.

Independent Extraction

The extractions were performed with four different organic phases: GANEX
solvent 2 (organic phase 1), 0.01 M CyMe4-BTBP in cyclohexanone (organic
phase 2), 30% TBP in cyclohexanone (organic phase 3), and pure cyclohex-
anone (organic phase 4). The aqueous media consisted of 1 M HNO3 and 3 M
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NaNO3 and the metals extracted were: Mo, Pd, Mn, Co, Ag, Cd, Sb, Sm, Eu,
U, Np, Pu, and Am. Besides the pure aqueous phase used for the radioactive
tracers, there were three additional aqueous phases prepared with the inactive
metals. To simplify the laboratory work Mo and Pd were prepared in separate
solutions by dissolving the oxide/salt in 1 M HNO3 and adding NaNO3 until a
total nitrate concentration of 4 M was reached. Due to incomplete dissolution,
the two solutions were also filtered using a syringe filter (pore size 0.6 μm).
The resulting metal concentrations were approximately 0.005 M for both Mo
and Pd. The third solution was prepared by dissolving the metal salts/oxides
of: Mn, Co, Ag, Cd, Sb, and Sm in 1 M nitric acid and adding NaNO3 up to a
total nitrate concentration of 4 M. To avoid loading issues the metal concen-
trations were kept close to 0.001 M for Mn, Ag, Cd, Sb, and 0.0006 M for Co
and Sm. Due to incomplete dissolution of the antimony oxide this solution
was also filtered using a syringe filter (pore size 0.6 μm). All of these
extractions were then performed as stated earlier except that the Mo solution
and the mixed metal solution were contacted using a thermostatic (20+-1 C)
shaking machine for a time of 1 hour instead of hand shaking. This shaking
time equals or exceeds 10 minutes of hand shaking and is hence enough to
reach equilibrium.

PART 1: REACTIVITY – RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Interaction Tests

The first TLC-test was performed on the same day as the GANEX solvent 1
was prepared. From this test the conclusion could be drawn that the BTBP and
the TBP had not reacted with each other but was left as separate molecules.
The GANEX solvent 1 was then aged (1 day) to see if any reactions that were
kinetically slow would occur. The analysis showed no deviance in Rf value
 A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process 445
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Figure 4. Sample 1 - C5-BTBP in acetone. Sample 2 - 0.1 M BTBP + 30% TBP in

cyclohexanone (diluted with dichloromethane). Sample 1+2¼ Sample 1 + Sample 2 on
the same place on the plate. Sample 3 - TBP (diluted with dichloromethane).

between the GANEX solvent 1 and the reference molecules, as can be seen in
Fig. 4, and hence no reaction had taken place.

The Effect of Nitric Acid

Nitric acid can be extracted into the organic phase by BTBP and also by TBP.
TBP forms both 2:1[22] and 1:1 complexes with HNO3 and with 30% TBP in
kerosene at 4 M nitric acid concentration the concentration of nitric acid in the
organic phase is app. 0.8 M.[23] Besides this, both TBP and cyclohexanone
have a mutual solubility of water. At 25 C the solubility of water in cyclohex-
anone is 8.0 wt% and in TBP it is 4.67 %.[24] It is already known that C5-
BTBP is degraded in the presence of nitric acid,[17] most likely due to
oxidation on the α-carbons in the alkyl substituents, initiated by nitrous acid
radicals present in the nitric acid. This is, however, not true for all BTBP type
molecules and for instance CyMe4-BTBP in octanol has shown a good
stability towards nitric acid.[25] This is because the CyMe4-BTBP side chains
do not give the nitrous acid radicals any opportunity for hydrogen abstraction
on the benzylic carbons. Due to this, the high presence of nitric acid in the
 446 E. Aneheim et al.

organic phase is not considered to be a big problem even though an aqueous

phase in a proposed GANEX process will consist of highly concentrated nitric
acid (3–6 M). It is also already well known and documented that TBP is only
to a very small degree degraded by nitric acid to dibutyl phosphate (DBP) and
monobutyl phosphate (MBP) and finally phosphoric acid.[26] The diluent is,
however, an important factor when it comes to the stability of the system and
therefore the long term consequences of nitric acid contact with the GANEX
solvent is currently under investigation.

Independent Extraction

It has now been established that the BTBP and TBP do not react with each
other. The possibility remains, however, that the two molecules could form a
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joint extractable complex. This is something that would not have been detected
in the TLC test. By performing separate and combined extraction experiments
the occurrence of joint extractable complexes could be tested. When doing this
an indication is also given regarding whether or not the actinides actually will
be extracted together and separated from the lanthanides as well as the fission
and corrosion/activation products. In addition, this also gives information about
which molecule extracts which metal under the conditions used.
The tests were done with four different organic phases using aqueous
phases with high ionic strength but reasonably low acidity (1 M HNO3 + 3 M
NaNO3). The reason for keeping the acidity low is because it was observed
that without TBP present, cyclohexanone, and nitric acid (>3 M) are almost
completely miscible, so to be able to make a correct comparison between the
phases this aqueous phase composition was chosen. The results from all
extractions are presented in Table 3.
The first conclusion that can be drawn from Table 3 is that the BTBP and
TBP clearly extract independently. Other interesting observations regarding
which molecule that extracts which metal can also be made.
Considering the actinides it can be seen that Am is extracted by BTBP. In
the same way both Np and Pu are almost entirely extracted by BTBP and not so
much by TBP as might be expected. This raises the question of the oxidation
state of the Pu since it was shown earlier that BTBP did not extract tetravalent
or hexavalent actinides.[9] U on the other hand is extracted by TBP. Both Pu and
U are, however, also extracted by the diluent, cyclohexanone. This extraction
may be undesired since it could cause problems in a subsequent stripping step.
One solution to the problem could be carbonate stripping but this is an issue that
must be further looked into. If one looks at the two lanthanides (Eu and Sm) it
can be seen that the extraction is caused by the BTBP.
All fission products that are extracted are almost entirely extracted by the
BTBP except for Sb, which to some surprise also seems to be extracted by TBP
and cyclohexanone. It can also be observed that among the fission products that
 Downloaded By: [Aneheim, Emma] At: 13:34 9 June 2010

Table 3. Log (D) from the extraction of metals (in 4 M nitrate concentration (1 M HNO3 + 3 M NaNO3)) with four different organic phases
(org 1: 0.01 M CyMe4-BTBP + 30% TBP in cyclohexanone. org 2: 0.01 M CyMe4-BTBP in cyclohexanone. org 3: 30% TBP in cyclohexanone.
org 4: cyclohexanone)

organic phase 1 organic phase 2 organic phase 3 organic phase 4

log(D) +/- log(D) +/- log(D) +/- log(D) +/-

Pu 2.55 0.0005/0.0005 2.59 0.0004/0.0004 1.21 0.0001/0.0001 1.04 8*10 ̂-5/8*10 ̂-5
Am 2.58 0.006/0.007 2.18 0.006/0.006 -1.16 0.002/0.002 -2.09 0.005/0.005
Eu 0.55 0.002/0.002 0.09 0.003/0.003 -0.94 0.004/0.004 -1.82 0.01/0.01
U 1.65 0.01/0.01 0.91 0.005/0.005 1.67 0.02/0.02 0.85 0.007/0.007
Np 0.88 0.009/0.009 0.95 0.01/0.01 -0.26 0.004/0.004 -0.42 0.003/0.003
Ni 1.83 0.005/0.005 2.85 0.02/0.02 -2.99 0.01/0.01 -2.58 0.007/0.007
Pd 1.33 0.01/0.01 2.11 0.03/0.03 -0.84 0.01/0.01 -0.76 0.01/0.01
A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process

Mo 1.21 0.003/0.003 1.46 0.004/0.004 -0.99 0.02/0.02 -1.13 0.01/0.01

Ag 1.78 0.01/0.01 1.72 0.01/0.01 -0.79 0.02/0.02 -0.76 0.03/0.03
Cd * * -1.11 0.05/0.06 -1.46 0.1/0.2
Co 4.06 0.6/>0.6 4.02 0.8/>0.8 -1.09 0.03/0.03 -1.38 0.08/0.1
Mn 3.49 0.1/0.1 3.47 0.1/0.1 -1.00 0.01/0.01 -1.23 0.05/0.06
Sb 3.05 0.4/>0.4 3.14 0.4/>0.4 0.06 0.01/0.01 -0.08 0.01/0.01
Sm -0.38 0.01/0.01 -0.73 0.07/0.09 -0.52 0.008/0.008 -1.32 0.1/0.2

*D value too high to measure with the equipment.

447
 448 E. Aneheim et al.

are extracted by BTBP, the majority display a lower D with organic phase 1 as
well as with organic phase 3 compared to organic phase 2 and 4. This suggests
that the presence of TBP in the system lowers the distribution ratios. This
deviation in D is most likely explained by the large addition of TBP to the
cyclohexanone. This is because when BTBP is the extractant then TBP just acts
as part of the diluent, altering its properties. The fact that altering the nature of
the diluent affects the D is something that is well established.[27]

PART 1: REACTIVITY – CONCLUSION

The BTBP and TBP molecules can coexist in a solution of cyclohexanone

without reacting with each other. Neither do they associate with each other but
extract independently and from a 1 M HNO3 + 3 M NaNO3 aqueous phase the
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actinides are readily extracted with GANEX solvent 2.

PART 2: EXTRACTION – EXPERIMENTAL

Extraction under Process Like Conditions

All of these extractions were performed using GANEX solvent 2 as the

organic phase. The aqueous phase used was 4 M nitric acid, to resemble
process conditions (PUREX feed concentration is typically over 3 M
HNO3). [28] For the same reason the inactive metals were present in con-
centrations comparable to those in dissolved spent fuel and the aqueous
phases with inactive fission products were also based on 4 M nitric acid (see
the section: preparation of metal solutions). The extractions were performed
as stated earlier except that all inactive fission and corrosion products
(except for Pd) were contacted using a thermostatic (20+-1 C) shaking
machine for 1 hour. This shaking time was assumed to be sufficient to
reach equilibrium for the fission- and corrosion products based on the fact
that DNi could be compared to kinetic data for CyMe4-BTBP[29] and that
extractions of various metals with C5-BTBP show no need for longer
shaking times for other metals compared to Ni.[30] The volumes shaken for
metal solution 3 (see the section: preparation of metal solutions) was also
900 μL and the aliquots removed were 800 μL.

Preparation of Metal Solutions

Eight different aqueous phases were prepared. Zr, Mo, and Pd were prepared
in separate solutions by dissolving the metal salts/oxides in 4 M nitric acid.
The three solutions were filtered using a syringe filter (pore size 0.6 μm).
 A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process 449

A separate solution was also made for Ru by diluting an ICP OES standard
solution (Ultra Scientific Analytical solutions, 1 analyte(s) at 1000 μg/mL)
with 4 M nitric acid until the wanted concentration was reached. The rest of
the fission products (FP) and corrosion/activation products were prepared in
four different solutions depending on their abundance in the spent fuel.
Solution 1 (FP with high abundance): Cs, Ba, La, Ce, and Nd. Solution 2
(FP with medium abundance): Rb, Sr, Y, Te, and Sm. Solution 3 (FP with
low abundance): Rh, Ag, Cd, Sn, and Sb. Solution 4 (corrosion/activation
products): Cr, Mn, Fe, and Co. All four solutions were prepared by dissol-
ving the metal salts/oxides in 4 M nitric acid. An exception was Te, which
was dissolved in a more concentrated nitric acid, later used for preparing the
4 M nitric acid for solution 2. The dissolution of Te resulted in a final
concentration that is much higher than what can be expected to be found in
the spent fuel. In solution 3 the tin oxide did not significantly dissolve and
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therefore the solution was decanted. The concentrations of all the elements
in these eight solutions were then measured with ICP-OES after being pre
equilibrated. This was done by comparison with calibration curves con-
structed with ICP-OES and ICP-MS standards (ICP-OES: Ultra Scientific
Analytical solutions, 1 analyte(s) at 1000 μg/mL and ICP-MS: High Purity
Standards, 10 +- 0.05 μg/mL (MS)). The resulting concentrations can be
seen in Table 4.

PART 2: EXTRACTION – RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Extraction Test under Process Like Conditions

As can be seen in Fig. 5, all present actinides are readily extracted. The
lanthanides on the other hand are not extracted to any larger extent and all
distribution ratios are below one (Fig. 6). The extraction of the lanthanides
also shows an obvious trend of being larger when moving to the right in the
periodic table. This behavior of the lanthanide extraction has been observed
before for CyMe4-BTBP and the D reaches a maximum value at dysprosium
before it starts to decrease again.[25] This is a favorable result for process
applications since the first lanthanides (especially La, Ce, and Nd) are present
in the highest concentrations in the spent fuel. The D for the higher lantha-
nides Tb, Dy, and Ho would most likely be over 1 when extracted with
GANEX solvent 2 from 4 M nitric acid but the abundance of these elements
is however very low (below 10 ppm).[13–15]
The distribution ratios presented in Figs. 5 and 6 result in promising
separation factors between actinides and lanthanides (Table 5) even for
the lanthanide that is extracted the most (Eu). When comparing the
extraction of actinides with the extraction of the most abundant lantha-
nide (Nd) the result looks even better (Table 5). Np is the actinide that
 450 E. Aneheim et al.

Table 4. Composition of metal solutions from OES-data

Substance Conc. (ppm) Conc. (mM)

Solution 1
Ba 480 3.5
Ce 930 6.6
La 480 3.5
Nd 1360 9.4
Cs 1200 9.0
Solution 2
Rb 100 1.2
Sm 230 1.5
Sr 240 2.7
Te 1470 11.5
Y 110 1.2
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Solution 3
Ag 60 0.5
Cd 30 0.3
Rh 40 0.4
Sb 10 0.08
Sn 1 0.008
Solution 4
Co 300 5.1
Cr 260 5.0
Fe 270 4.8
Mn 330 6.0
Single solutions
Zr 1500 16
Pd 450 4.2
Mo 650 6.8
Ru 400 3.9

has the lowest SF towards the lanthanides (SF Np/Eu ¼ 3.5) but this is still
sufficiently high.
In Fig.7 it can be seen that the elements among the fission products that
clearly have the highest distribution ratios (Ag and Cd) fortunately also have a
very low abundance in the spent fuel. This unwanted extraction can, however,
still become a problem in a future process if the metals cannot be scrubbed
out. Two of the most abundant elements (Zr and Mo) are also extracted to
some degree. Even though the D for Zr is not very high this could still be
problematic due to the large amounts of the element available in spent fuel.
Another troublesome element is Pd that also is extracted by the GANEX
solvent 2. Beside this, Pd has also been observed to quickly precipitate to
metallic palladium when a ketone like cyclohexanone is present, which could
 A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process 451
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Figure 5. Extraction of actinides (235U, 237Np, 238Pu, 241Am) from 4 M nitric acid
with 0.01 M CyMe4-BTBP and 30% TBP in cyclohexanone.

Figure 6. Extraction of lanthanides (152Eu, the rest as non radioactive metal salts)
from 4 M nitric acid with 0.01 M CyMe4-BTBP and 30% TBP in cyclohexanone.

cause problems in a future process. This precipitation is, however, stopped

when BTBP is present in the organic phase forming complexes with the Pd.
As can be seen in Fig. 8, it is Ni, Co, and Mn among the corrosion
products that are extracted to any great extent. This is a promising result since
Fe ought to be the most abundant corrosion product present in a reprocessing
process. This is due to the high content in steel equipment and also in the
possible future use of steel cladding for fast reactors.[28]
It has also been observed that most of the results presented in the
“Independent Extraction” section (part 1) not only apply to that specific
aqueous phase but also to the process like conditions. Due to this, the
 452 E. Aneheim et al.

Table 5. Separation factors for the actinides (U, Np, Pu, Am) and
two different lanthanides (Nd, Eu) after extraction from 4 M HNO3
with 0.01 M CyMe4-BTBP + 30% TBP in cyclohexanone

Elements Separation factor

Am / Eu 160.0
Pu / Eu 210.0
U / Eu 11.0
Np / Eu 3.5
Am / Nd 1700.0
Pu / Nd 2300.0
U / Nd 120.0
Np / Nd 38.0
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Figure 7. Extraction of fission products from 4 M nitric acid with 0.01 M CyMe4-
BTBP and 30% TBP in cyclohexanone. White bars ¼ concentrations well below 100
ppm in dissolved fuel. Grey bars ¼ concentrations between 100–600 ppm in the
dissolved fuel. Black bars ¼ concentrations above 1000 ppm in dissolved fuel. The
dashed line marks log(D)¼0 which is the dividing line between extraction and strip.

discussion on which element that is extracted by which molecule can also be

applied on most extractions with GANEX solvent 2 from 4 M nitric acid.

PART 2: EXTRACTION – CONCLUSION

Under process like conditions the actinides are readily extracted by GANEX
solvent 2. The actinides are separated from the lantahanides as well as from
most of the fission and corrosion/activation products.
 A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process 453

Figure 8. Extraction of corrosion/activation products from 4 M nitric acid with 0.01 M

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CyMe4-BTBP and 30% TBP in cyclohexanone. Metal concentrations of 0.005 M.

PART 3: LOADING

In a real process case there will definitely be metal loading in the aqueous
phase compared to the concentration of BTBP in the organic phase. To make
sure that this is not an insurmountable problem, an extraction of U, Np, Pu,
Am, and also Eu with GANEX solvent 2 from a heavily metal loaded
aqueous phase was performed. The experiments were done to study how
the metal loaded water phase affected the D for the actinides and the
lanthanides.

PART 3: LOADING – EXPERIMENTAL

The extraction experiments were performed as previously stated. One single

metal solution with Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Nd,
Sm, and Te in approximately the same concentrations as seen in Table 4 was
prepared by dissolving the metal salts/oxides in 4 M HNO3.The total metal
concentration (after filtration through a glass microfiber syringe filter, particle
retention: 1.0 μm) was over 9000 ppm. This metal solution was then used as
aqueous phase in the extraction of 235U, 237Np, 238Pu, 241Am, and 152Eu with
GANEX solvent 2.

PART 3: LOADING – RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

When comparing Fig. 9 to Figs. 5 and 6 it can be seen that the D for U is more
or less unaffected, as expected, due to the large amount of TBP present in the
 454 E. Aneheim et al.

Figure 9. Extraction of 235U, 237Np, 238Pu, 241Am, and 152Eu from a 4 M nitric acid -
metal loaded aqueous phase with 0.01 M CyMe4-BTBP and 30% TBP in cyclohex-
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anone. Total metal concentration: >9000 ppm.

organic phase. The D for Np is however also unaffected even though it was
shown to be extracted by the BTBP and not TBP in the previous section. This
could be an effect of a change in oxidation state caused by the higher acidity
or the other metals present in the aqueous phase. The D for both Am and Pu is
lowered but still sufficiently high, especially since the D for Eu also was
lowered, rendering a total raise in SF for all actinides except Am (Table 6).
The lowered D for Eu and hence also the other lanthanides under metal
loading conditions is a good result considering that the higher lanthanides
(Tb, Dy, and Ho) otherwise would have a D over 1.
In a future reprocessing process of spent transmutation fuel the content
of Pu will be much higher than in regular spent nuclear fuel. This is due to
the mixing in of Pu in the fuel for fast reactors.[31] This creates totally
different scenarios regarding the loading issue which are not considered in
this work.

Table 6. Separation Factors for the actinides (U, Np, Pu, Am)
and one lanthanide (Eu) after extraction from metal loaded 4 M
HNO3 (metal content >9000 ppm) with 0.01 M CyMe4-BTBP
+ 30% TBP in cyclohexanone

Elements Separation factor

Am / Eu 101
Pu / Eu 363
U / Eu 91
Np / Eu 28
 A TBP/BTBP-based GANEX Separation Process 455

PART 3: LOADING – CONCLUSION

The actinides can be extracted from a metal loaded water phase, however, with
somewhat decreased distribution ratios for Pu and Am. The separation factors
are, however, still high or even higher than without metal loading due to the
decrease in D for the lanthanides.

CONCLUSION

The two extractants BTBP and TBP can be used together in one solvent since
it has been shown that they do not react with each other. The two molecules
also extract independently and are able to extract the actinides and separate
them from the lanthanides as well as from most of the fission and corrosion/
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activation products. The results from the experiments clearly show, despite the
need for system optimization, that the combination of CyMe4-BTBP and TBP
in cyclohexanone has a great potential and is a feasible candidate for a future
industrial GANEX process.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank M. Sc. Kristian Larsson who was very helpful and patient
with all ICP-OES measurements. Thanks also to the Swedish Nuclear Fuel
and Waste Management Company (SKB) and the European 7th Framework
Program ACSEPT (project number: 211267) for financial support.

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