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N,N-Dialkyl amides as extractants for spent fuel reprocessing: an overview

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Abstract

Reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel is vital for the long-term global nuclear power growth and is the major motivation for developing novel separation schemes. Conventionally, PUREX and THOREX processes have been proposed for the reprocessing of U and Th based spent fuels employing tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) as extractant. However, based on the experiences gained over last five–six decades on the reprocessing of spent fuels, some major drawbacks of TBP have been identified. Evaluation of alternative extractants is, therefore, desirable which can overcome at least some of these problems. Extensive studies have been carried out on the evaluation of N,N-dialkyl amides as extractants in the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle for addressing the issues related to the reprocessing of U and Th based spent fuels. Under advanced fuel cycle scenario, efforts are also being made by countries with a developed nuclear technological base to provide safe nuclear power to other countries and to minimize proliferation concerns worldwide. This paper presents an overview of studies carried out in our laboratory on different aspects of reprocessing of U and Th based spent fuels employing N,N-dialkyl amides as extractants.

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Acknowledgments

Author thanks Mr. D. R. Prabhu, Ms. Neelam Kumari, Mr. Avinash Kanekar, Mr. P. K. Verma and Prof. V. K. Manchanda for their valuable contributions in this work. He acknowledges the kind support of Dr. P. K. Mohapatra, Head, Actinide Chemistry Section, Radiochemistry Division. He sincerely thanks Dr. A. Goswami, Head, Radiochemistry Division for his keen interest and constant encouragement for these studies.

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  1. Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085, India

    P. N. Pathak

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Correspondence to P. N. Pathak.

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Pathak, P.N. N,N-Dialkyl amides as extractants for spent fuel reprocessing: an overview. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 300, 7–15 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-2961-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-2961-0

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