Separation of uranium from technetium in recovery of spent nuclear fuel

摘要

A method for decontaminating uranium product from the Purex process comprises addition of hydrazine to the product uranyl nitrate stream from the Purex process, which contains hexavalent (UO22+) uranium and heptavalent technetium (TcO4-). Technetium in the product stream is reduced and then complexed by the addition of oxalic acid (H2C2O4), and the Tc-oxalate complex is readily separated from the uranium by solvent extraction with 30 vol. % tributyl phosphate in n-dodecane.