Evaluation study on silica/polymer-based CA-BTP adsorbent for the separation of minor actinides from simulated high-level liquid wastes

A silica/polymer-based CA-BTP/SiO₂-P adsorbent was prepared to separate minor actinides and some key radionuclides from HLLW. The adsorption properties of CA-BTP/SiO₂-P toward ²³⁸U(VI), ²³⁹Pu(IV), ²⁴¹Am(III), ⁹⁹Tc(VII), ¹⁵²Eu(III), and some typical fission products were studied. CA-BTP/SiO₂-P stability against c-radiation was also evaluated. It found CA-BTP/SiO₂-P showed very poor adsorption abilities toward U(VI) and most experimental FPs, while CA-BTP/SiO₂-P exhibited higher adsorption abilities toward ²⁴¹Am(III), ²³⁹Pu(IV), and ⁹⁹Tc(VII) in 0.5-1 M HNO₃ solution. Moreover, dry CA-BTP/SiO₂-P demonstrated no instability when the radiation dose was up to 161 kGy. CA-BTP/SiO₂-P adsorbent is a potential candidate for separating ²⁴¹Am(III), ²³⁹Pu(IV), and ⁹⁹Tc(VII) from HLLW. (author)