The process based on supercritical fluid extraction for reprocessing of the spent nuclear fuel has some remarkable advantages over the plutonium-uranium extraction(PUREX) process.Especially,it can minimize the generation of secondary waste.Dynamic reactive extraction of neodymium oxide(Nd2O3) in supercritical carbon dioxide(SC-CO2) containing tri-n-butyl phosphate-nitric acid(TBP-HNO3) complex was investigated.Temperature showed a positive effect on the extraction efficiency,while pressure showed a negative effect when the unsaturated TBP-HNO3 complex was employed for the dynamic reactive extraction of Nd2O3 in SC-CO2.Both temperature and pressure effects indicated that the kinetic process of the reactive extraction was controlled by the chemical reaction.A kinetic model was proposed to describe the extraction process.
The mixed trialkylphosphine oxide-nitric acid (TRPO-HNO3) complex prepared by contacting pure TRPO with concentrated HNO3 may be used as additives for direct dissolution of lanthanide and actinide ox- ides in the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SCF-CO2). Properties of the TRPO-HNO3 complex have been studied. Experimental results show when the initial HNO3/TRPO volume ratio is varied from 1:7 to 5:1, the concentration of HNO3 in the TRPO-HNO3 complex changes from 2.12 to 6.16 mol/L, the [HNO3]/[TRPO] ratio of the TRPO-HNO3 complex changes from 0.93 to 3.38, and the content of H2O in the TRPO-HNO3 complex changes from 0.97% to 2.70%. All of the density, viscosity and surface tension of the TRPO-HNO3 complex change with the concentration of HNO3 in the complex. The protons of HNO3 and H2O in the complex undergo rapid exchange to exhibit a singlet resonance peak in NMR spectra with D2O insert. When the TRPO-HNO3 complex dissolves in a low dielectric constant solvent, small droplets of HNO3 appear which can be detected by NMR.
The tri-n-butyl phosphate-nitric acid （TBP-HNO3） complex prepared by contacting the pure TBP with the concentrated HNO3 can be used for direct dissolution of lanthanide and actinide oxides in the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide （SCF-CO2）. Properties of the TBP-HNO3 complex have been studied. Experimental results showed that when the initial HNO3/TBP volume ratio was varied from 1 ： 7 to 5 ： 1, the concentration of HNO3 in the TBP-HNO3 complex changed from 1.95 to 5.89 mol/L, the [HNO3]/[TBP] ratio of the TBP-HNO3 complex changed from 0.61 to 2.22, and the content of H20 in the TBP-HNO3 complex changed from 2.02% to 4.19%. All of the density, viscosity and surface tension of the TBP-HNO3 complex changed with the concentration of HNO3 in the complex, and were higher than those of the pure TBE The protons of HNO3 and H2O in the complex underwent rapid exchange to exhibit a singlet resonance peak in nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. When the TBP-HNO3 complex was dissolved in a low dielectric constant solvent, small droplets of HNO3 were formed that can be detected by NMR.
Direct extraction of metals from solids with complexing agents in supercritical CO2(SC-CO2) has recently attracted interests in separation,purification,recovery,and analysis of metals.In the present study,the static/dynamic extraction of rare earth elements(Nd,Ce) from their oxides(Nd2O3,CeO2) with organophosphorus complexes with HNO3 and H2O in SC-CO2 was investigated.The static extraction efficiency of Nd from Nd2O3 with the tri-n-butylphosphate(TBP)-HNO3 complex could reach 95% under optimized experiment...
