Demonstration of Hollow Fiber Membrane Technique for the Recovery of Plutonium from Analytical Laboratory Waste

Chaudhury, Sanhita; Ansari, Seraj A.; Mohapatra, P. Κ.; Noronha, D. M.; Pillai, Jisha S.; Srivastava, Ashutosh; Pius, I. C.

doi:10.1080/00295450.2018.1510699

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Thus, the present methodology has also been applied to recover Pu and U in the presence of these metallic impurities in 0.1 M HNO 3 /K 2 SO 4 sat. (at 25 °C) . To separate Pu and U, bulk electrolysis of the mixed solution was first carried out at 0.1 V for 3 h to precipitate Pu, which was filtered, and the filtrate was again subjected to bulk electrolysis at −0.35 V to precipitate U.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Herein, we report a simple electrochemical method in which Pu and U can be recovered separately from the aqueous acidic waste solutions as solid potassium plutonium(III) sulfate [K 2 (K 0.5 Pu 0.5 )(SO 4 ) 2 ] and potassium uranium(IV) sulfate [K 2 (K 0.67 U 0.33 )(SO 4 ) 2 ], respectively, with an efficiency>97.5% (which is close to that achieved by traditional techniques), ,, just by varying the electrode potential. First, electrochemistry and bulk electrolysis of pure PuO 2 2+ and UO 2 2+ in 0.1 M HNO 3 /K 2 SO 4 sat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…By the present approach, Pu can be selectively recovered in the presence of U but the reverse is not possible. The present electrochemical approach is simple, fast, generates much less secondary wastes compared to conventional methods of separation of U and Pu from analytical laboratory waste solutions (oxalate precipitation, ion-exchange, and membrane filtration). ,, The potential for remotization and automation minimizes the contact dose to the operator. On the contrary, conventional methods are tedious multistep processes, requiring the addition of organic contaminants, and also generate a large volume of secondary wastes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These methods result in both unanalyzed (Pu and U) and analyzed wastes (Pu, U, Fe, Cr, Ag, and Ti) in an acidic medium. Because of the strategic importance of Pu and the hazardous and toxic nature of Pu and U, they must be recovered completely from these analytical waste solutions before their final disposal . It is desirable to recover Pu as pure PuO 2 powder and U as UO 2 /U 3 O 8 powder so that they can be reused in nuclear fuel fabrication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although several methods, such as precipitation, , solvent extraction, ion-exchange, and membrane filtration , , are available for Pu and U recovery from analytical laboratory waste solutions, they lead to the generation of secondary wastes and involve complicated steps requiring the addition of oxidants/reductants for valence adjustments. Therefore, a simplified method for recovering Pu and U from waste solutions is desirable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A “Two-Step” Electrochemical Approach for Recovery of Plutonium and Uranium from Aqueous Acidic Waste Solutions

Agarwal,

Gamare,

Nandi

et al. 2024

Inorg. Chem.

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Chemical quality control of nuclear fuel, particularly the determination of Pu and U contents by chemical methods, results in analytical acidic aqueous waste solutions from which Pu and U must be recovered efficiently for the remediation of radioactive wastes. Reported methods involve several complicated steps requiring addition of chemical oxidants/reductants for valence adjustments and generation of secondary wastes, thereby making the recovery process cumbersome. Herein, we report a novel two-step electrochemical approach for Pu and U recovery from acidic aqueous waste solutions containing different metallic impurities (Fe, Cr, Mn, Cd, Al, Ni, Co, Zn, and Mg) by bulk electrolysis using a Pt gauze electrode. Pu and U are recovered from these waste solutions in a two-step process: (i) bulk electrolysis of the mixed solution at a constant potential of 0.1 V vs Ag/AgCl/3 M KCl that results in the reduction of PuO 2 2+ to Pu 3+ followed by the precipitation of Pu 3+ as K 2 (K 0.5 Pu 0.5 )(SO 4 ) 2 , which is then filtered and separated and (ii) the filtrate solution is again subjected to bulk electrolysis at a constant potential of −0.35 V vs Ag/AgCl/3 M KCl resulting in the reduction of UO 2 2+ to U 4+ . The U 4+ is then precipitated as K 2 (K 0.67 U 0.33 )(SO 4 ) 2 , which is filtered and separated, leading to a Pu-and U-free aqueous acidic waste solutions. Biamperometry shows that 97.8% and 99.1% recovery of Pu and U, respectively, is possible, and emission spectrometry confirms the purity of K 2 (K 0.5 Pu 0.5 )(SO 4 ) 2 and K 2 (K 0.67 U 0.33 )(SO 4 ) 2 . Because of its operational simplicity, potential for remote handling, and excellent extraction efficiency, the present methodology can easily replace traditional methods for the recovery of Pu and U from acidic aqueous waste solutions.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%