Abstract
Aqueous biphasic separation systems are being developed for the treatment of liquid radioactive wastes. These extraction systems are based on the use of polyethylene glycols (PEGs) for the selective extraction and recovery of long-lived radionuclides, such as {sup 129}I, {sup 75}Se, and {sup 99}Tc, from caustic solutions containing high concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, and carbonate. Because of the high ionic strengths of supernatant liquids in Hanford underground storage tanks, aqueous biphasic systems can be generated by simply adding aqueous PEG solutions directly to the waste solution. In the process, anionic species like I{sup -} and TcO{sup -}{sub 4} are selectively transferred to the less dense PEG phase. The partition coefficients for a wide range of inorganic cations and anions, such as sodium, potassium, aluminum, nitrate, nitrite, and carbonate, are all less than one. The authors present experimental data on extraction of technetium from several simulated Hanford tank wastes at 25{degrees} and 50{degrees}C.
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