Studies of the chemistry of transuranium elements and technetium at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, supported by the US Department of Energy

Studies at Hanford in the 1980s revealed the potential for actinides to form stable soluble complexes in alkaline media, simulating radioactive tank waste. Pu(IV) hydrous oxide and Pu(VI) solubility increased with hydroxide concentration, ionic strength, and aluminate/carbonate concentrations. Subsequent contacts between US and Russian researchers in 1993 led to a technical literature review of the chemistry of TRU and Tc in alkaline media; this review addresses oxidation states, solubility, speciation, redox reactions, electrochemistry, radiation chemistry, and separations in alkaline media. As an outgrowth, a program of fundamental and applied chemistry studies of TRU and Tc is being conducted at IPC/RAS with US DOE support: solubility, redox reagents, coprecipitation, and radiation chemistry. This overview provides information on the Hanford Site tank waste system, US DOE technological needs, and IPC/RAS developments

Alkaline chemistry of transuranium elements and technetium and the treatment of alkaline radioactive wastes

Goal of this survey is to generalize the known data on fundamental physical-chemical properties of TRUs and Tc, methods for their isolation, and to provide recommendations that will be useful for partitioning them from alkaline high-level wastes

Decontamination of alkaline solution from technetium and other fission products and from some actinides by reductive coprecipitation and sorption on metals

Effective decontamination of alkaline solutions and Hanford Site tank waste simulants from technetium has been accomplished by reductive coprecipitation with iron(III) hydroxide. Addition of 1 M (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}Fe(SO{sub 4}){sub 2} to 0.5 to 4.0 M NaOH to a final concentration of 0.1 to 0.15 M coprecipitates more than 99% of the technetium. from 0.5 to 1.0 M NaOH and 98 to 96% from 2.0 to 4.0 M NaOH. Similar results were obtained by reduction of Tc(VII) with 0.1 to 0.15 M hydrazine and subsequent addition of FeCl{sub 3} to a final concentration of 0.15 M. Inclusion of four complex-forming agents [0.01 M phosphate, 0.1 M EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetate), 0.03 M citrate, and 0.1 M glycolate (HOCH{sub 2}CO{sub 2}{sup -})] to the alkaline solution decreases technetium coprecipitation with iron hydroxide to 85% under otherwise similar conditions. Inclusion of 0.04 M Na{sub 2}CrO{sub 4} drastically decreases reductive coprecipitation of Tc(VII) in 0.5 to 4.0 M NaOH. Iron(II) salt, added to a 0.07 M excess over that of chromate, completely reduces chromate and provides greater than 99% coprecipitation of technetium with product iron(III) and chromium(III) hydroxides. Technetium(VII) reduction by hydrazine is slow in the presence of chromate in alkaline solution, and technetium coprecipitation is incomplete in these conditions. Decontamination of an alkaline Hanford Site tank waste simulant, containing 0.04M chromate and eleven salts and complex-forming agents, by adding 1 M iron(II) salt solution was studied. Coprecipitation of 15 to 28% of the technetium and more than 99% of the plutonium occurred in the Fe/Cr(III) hydroxide precipitate produced by adding 0.05 to 0.10 M iron(II). Chromate reduction was incomplete. About 75% of the technetium was coprecipitated, and the chromate was completely reduced, after adding 0.2 M iron(II) salt

Purification of alkaline solutions and wastes from actinides and technetium by coprecipitation with some carriers using the method of appearing reagents: Final Report

The coprecipitation of transuranium elements (TRU) and technetium from alkaline solutions and from simulants of Hanford Site tank wastes has been studied in reducing and oxidizing conditions on uranium(IV,VI) hydroxocompounds, tetraalkylammonium perrhenate and perchlorate, and on hydroxides of Fe(III), Co(III), Mn(II), and Cr(III) using the method of appearing reagents (MAR). Coprecipitations in alkaline solution have been shown to give high decontamination factors (DF) at low content of carrier and in the presence of high salt concentrations. Uranium(IV) hydroxide in concentrations higher than 3 {times} 10{sup {minus}3} M coprecipitates Pu and Cm in any oxidation state from 0.2 to 4 M NaOH with DFs of 110 to 1000 and Np and Tc with DFs of 51 to 176. Technetium (VII) coprecipitates with (5 to 8) {times} 10{sup {minus}4} M tetrabutylammonium (TBA) perrhenate in 0.01 to 0.02 M TBA hydroxide from 0.5 to 1.5 M NaOH to give DFs of 150 to 200. Coprecipitations of Np and Pu with Co(OH){sub 3}, Fe(OH){sub 3}, Cr(OH){sub 3}, and Mn(OH){sub 2} obtained by the MAR from precursors in the range from pH 10.5 to 0.4 M NaOH give DFs from 80 to 400