PALADIN: PALADIN: A one step process for actinides(iii)/ fission products separation

Abstract

International audienceIn the frame of the French SPIN program, PALADIN is a one partition cycle process able to separate directly americium and curium from lanthanides(III) and other fission products mixed in concentrated nitric acid (similar to a PUREX raffinate). Batch experiments allowed us to choose and optimize every organic and aqueous reagent. Solvent is composed of a mixture of malonamide and alkyphosphoric acid. Aqueous solutions contain only incinerable reagents (hydroxycarboxylic acids, polyaminocarboxylic acids...). An inactive mixer-settlers test was carried out in order to study the behavior of some fission products. Hydrodynamics and performances were good for the main steps of the process, in particular very few fission products were found in actinides(III) aqueous outflow solution