Development of processes for the partitioning of minor actinides from high active waste from fast reactor fuel

Partitioning of minor actinides (MA) and its transmutation is a viable strategy for the safe management of high active waste (HAW). Partitioning is a two-step process. In the first step, minor actinides along with lanthanides are separated by using a neutral extractant. Subsequently, actinides are recovered from lanthanides. Partitioning of trivalent lanthanides and actinides from fast-reactor (FR) high-level liquid waste (HLLW) has been demonstrated, for the first time, using a CMPO based process. An unsymmetrical diglycolamide, N,N,-didodecyl-N',N'-dioctyl-3-oxapentane-1,5-diamide (D³DODGA ) has been developed recently for the partitioning of minor actinides in the first step without the use of a phase modifier. Mutual separation of Am(III) and Eu(III) has been carried out in the second step by using a solution of bis(2-ethylhexyl)diglycolamic acid (HDEHDGA) in n-dodecane (n-DD). (author)