This article presents the results of experiments on electrochemical denitration of model solutions simulating aqueous raffinates of the Purex process and tail-water solutions after sorption extraction of plutonium. The experiments were performed with the use of a flow-through diaphragm electrochemical cell manufactured at the Vitold Bakhir Institute of Electrochemical Systems and Technologies. It is shown that the method of electrochemical reduction of nitric acid makes it possible to reduce the concentration of HNO3 from 3–7 to 0.5–1.4 mol/dm3 with using additional chemical reagents at room temperature. The specific amount of electricity spent on the decomposition of 1 g of HNO3 as well as the degree of migration of 137Cs and 152Eu from catholyte to anolyte in the process of electrochemical reduction, were determined. It is concluded that the method of electrochemical denitration shows promise in removing nitric acid from various types of liquid radioactive waste due to its low energy intensity, explosion safety, and the possibility of industrial implementation using home-grown process equipment.
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Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 133, No. 1, pp. 41–46, July, 2022.
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Milyutin, V.V., Zelenin, P.G. Liquid Radwaste Denitration by Electrochemical Reduction of Nitric Acid. At Energy 133, 43–48 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-023-00970-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-023-00970-z