Efficient separation processes for recovering uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel are essential to the development of advanced nuclear fuel cycles. The performance characteristics of a new salt-free complexing and reducing reagent, glutarimidedioxime (H2A), are reported for recovering plutonium in a PUREX process. With a phase ratio of organic to aqueous of up to 10:1, plutonium can be effectively stripped from 30% tributyl phosphate (TBP) in kerosene into 1 M HNO3 with H2A. The complexation-reduction mechanism is illustrated with the combination of UV/Vis absorption spectra and the crystal structure of a Pu(IV) complex with the reagent. The fast stripping rate and the high efficiency for stripping Pu(IV), through the complexation-reduction mechanism, is suitable for use in centrifugal contactors with very short contact/resident times, thereby offering significant advantages over conventional processes.
Keywords: chelates; plutonium; reduction; structure elucidation; waste reduction.
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