Abstract
COSMO-RS method was used in screening 2106 ionic liquids as alternate solvents to volatile n-dodecane used in PUREX. The distribution coefficients of uranylnitrate in ionic liquids/aqueous nitric acid biphasic system and the solubility of the ionic liquids in water were determined using COSMO-RS. Seventeen ionic liquids based on tetrafluoroborate BF4, were the most hydrophobic than others screened with hexamethylguanidiumtetrafluoroborate having the highest distribution coefficient. Their distribution coefficients were higher than that of the convention n-dodecane used for separation of uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel but having more hydrophilicity than n-dodecane. This shows that ionic liquids can be used as alternate solvents in PUREX. Key words: Ionic liquids, spent nuclear fuel (SNF), conductor-like screening model (COSMO-RS), Plutonium uranium extraction (PUREX), COSMOtherm, n-dodecane, n-tributylphosphate (TBP).
Highlights
The products contained in SNF are radioactive with halflives from days to millions of years which give a lot of threat to human health and environment (Terry, 2008)
Uranium and Plutonium are conventionally recovered through PUREX process
The extraction processes developed for SNF treatment and recovery, utilize organic solvents that are volatile, hazardous, toxic, flammable, and unstable towards the radiation and heat generated by the SNF (Sung et al, 2010)
Summary
The products contained in SNF are radioactive with halflives from days to millions of years which give a lot of threat to human health and environment (Terry, 2008). Since the undesirable properties of these conventional solvents may pose several threats and problems both to plant operation and to environment, several researches are ongoing in search of alternate safer solvents such as ionic liquids (ILs) which have unique physical and chemical properties, such as specific solvent abilities, negligible vapor pressures, non flammability, thermal and radiological stability and broad liquid temperature ranges among many. They have led to promising applications as environmentally benign solvents that can be possible candidates to replace conventional organic solvents (Sung et al, 2010)
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