Determination of neodymium recovery in nuclear fuel plate (PEB) U3Si2/Al solution using the cation exchange and precipitation methods

Abstract

Determination of Neodymium (Nd) recovery in fuel element plate (PEB) U3Si2/Al solution using cation exchange and precipitation methods was carried out. In the nuclear industry, the Nd isotope was one of the fission products of uranium-based fuels, in this case U3Si2/Al, which was used as a burn-up indicator because it was a stable element. As an indicator of burn up, Nd needs to be separated from other fission products such as cesium (Cs), uranium (U), Zirconium (Zr) to obtain pure Nd. Therefore, it was necessary to separate Nd using methods that had been used for the separation of other isotopes. By using established separation method, it was expected that the optimum recovery Nd would be obtained. Previous researchers have developed a method of cesium separation as a burn-up indicator, there were ion exchange and deposition methods. The recovery of Cs using the two methods were >95%. By obtaining a large recovery value, it was possible that this method could be used separate Nd in fuel element. This study aims to obtain recovery Nd using these two methods. The cation exchange process was carried out using 1000 mg of zeolite. PEB mixed solution containing Cs, Nd, other fission products and HCl 2 mL were added to the zeolite. The solution was shaken for 1 hour and then left for 24 hours. The solid phase and the liquid phase would form after 24 hours. The Nd element that were supposed to be in liquid phase. The Nd content were analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). Separation of Nd from PEB using the precipitation method was carried out by added 4 mL HClO4 and cooled at 0°C using an ice bath for 1 hour. A precipitate was formed after cooling for 1 hour. The liquid phase was separated from the solid phase. The Nd elements that were supposed to be in the liquid phase were analyzed using XRF. The analysis of Nd content using the two methods were used to calculate the Nd recovery. The recovery of Nd separation was 69.91% using the cation exchange method and 75.77% using deposition method, so the Nd separation using the precipitation method was better than separation using the cation exchange method.