Separation of Am(III) and Cm(III) from trivalent lanthanides by 2,6-bistriazinylpyridine extraction chromatography for radioactive waste management

Abstract

To separate long-lived minor actinides (MA=Am, Cm) from high level liquid waste (HLLW), we have prepared a novel silica-based extraction resin by impregnating 2,6-bis-(5,6-dibutyl-1,2,4-triazine-3-yl)pyridine ( nBu-BTP) into the porous SiO 2-P support with a diameter of 50 μm. The adsorption performance of Am(III), Cm(III) and typical fission products (FP) including lanthanides (Ln) from nitrate acidic solution was investigated. Furthermore, separation behavior of MA from Ln was examined by extraction chromatography using a column packed with the extraction resin. It was found that the extraction resin exhibits significantly high adsorbability and selectivity for Am(III) and Cm(III) over other FP elements. A complete separation between Am(IV) and Ln(III) was achieved in the column experiment.