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Abstract
The inextractability of the actinide AnO2 + ions by the TRUEX solvent suggests the possibility of a separation of americium from the lanthanides using oxidation to Am(V). The only current method for the direct oxidation of americium to Am(V) in strongly acidic media is with sodium bismuthate. We prepared Am(V) over a wide range of nitric acid concentrations and investigated its solvent-extraction behavior for comparison to europium. While a separation is achievable in principal, the presence of macro amounts of cerium competes for the sparingly soluble oxidant and the oxidant itself competes for CMPO complexation. These factors conspire to reduce the Eu/Am separation factor from ∼40 using tracer solutions to ∼5 for extractions from the first-cycle raffinate simulant solution. To separate pentavalent americium directly from the lanthanides using the TRUEX process, an alternative oxidizing agent may be necessary.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The work reported in this article was performed for the Fuel Cycle R&D sigma team funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through DOE Idaho Operations Office contract DE-AC07-05ID14517. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to publish or reproduce the published form of this contribution, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.