Recycling of isotopically modified molybdenum from irradiated CerMet nuclear fuel: part 3—strontium separation from concentrated molybdate solution

This study is aimed at developing a promising method of strontium impurity separation from concentrated molybdenum solutions originating from molybdenum recycling from irradiated CerMet nuclear fuels with an isotopically tailored molybdenum matrix. Strontium sorption onto thirteen inorganic or composite absorbers from a slightly alkaline (pH 9.1) ammonium molybdate surrogate solution was studied. Based on the evaluation of weight distribution ratios, their dependence on molybdenum concentration and pH, and kinetics of sorption, calcium activated barium sulfate (Ba(Ca)SO₄) was identified as the most promising material. In a dynamic column experiment performed with the Ba(Ca)SO₄-PAN absorber, 2700 BV of the solution with c_Sr = 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ could be treated with a breakthrough of lower than 1% and 100% breakthrough was not achieved even after processing almost 7000 BV of the feed.