Nuclear Energy and the Environment

421 Pages·2010·10.99 MB·English

by  Chien M. Wai and Bruce J. Mincher (Eds.)

Nuclear Energy and the
Environment

In Nuclear Energy and the Environment; Wai, C., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010.
In Nuclear Energy and the Environment; Wai, C., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010.
1046
ACS SYMPOSIUM SERIES
Nuclear Energy and the
Environment
Chien M. Wai, Editor
Department of Chemistry
University of Idaho
Bruce J. Mincher, Editor
Aqueous Separations and Radiochemistry Department
Idaho National Laboratory
Sponsored by the
ACS Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology and ACS
DivisionofIndustrialandEngineeringChemistry

AmericanChemicalSociety,Washington,DC
In Nuclear Energy and the Environment; Wai, C., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Nuclearenergyandtheenvironment/[editedby]ChienM.Wai,BruceJ.Mincher;
sponsoredbytheACSDivisionofNuclearChemistryandTechnologyandtheACSDivision
ofIndustrialandEngineeringChemistry.
p.cm.-- (ACSsymposiumseries;1046)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-8412-2585-5(alk.paper)
1. Radioactivewastedisposal--Management--Congresses.2. Radioactivewaste
repositories--Congresses3. Nuclearfuels--Environmentalaspects--Congresses.
I.Wai,ChienM.II.Mincher,BruceJ.III.AmericanChemicalSociety.NuclearChemistry
andTechnology.IV.AmericanChemicalSociety.DivisionofIndustrialandEngineering
Chemistry.
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In Nuclear Energy and the Environment; Wai, C., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010.
Foreword
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In Nuclear Energy and the Environment; Wai, C., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010.
Table of Contents

Preface
Chien M. Wai and Bruce J. Mincher xi

Acknowledgement xiii

Introduction 1

1 The Nuclear Renaissance: Producing Environmentally Sustainable Nuclear Power
Bruce J. Mincher 3-10

Overview 11

2 Separations Research for Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles
T. A. Todd 13-18

3 Challenges for Actinide Separations in Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles
K. L. Nash and J. C. Braley 19-38

4 Roadmapping New Cleanup Technologies in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management
John R. Wiley and Edwin Przybylowicz 39-50

Separations Chemistry 51

5 Green Separation Techniques for Nuclear Waste Management
Chien M. Wai 53-63

6 Development of a Unique Process for Recovery of Uranium from Incinerator Ash
Sydney S. Koegler 65-78

7 Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Mixed Wastes: PAH, PCB, Uranium and Lanthanum in Solid Matrices
Joanna S. Wang, WenYen Chang, HuaKwang Yak, and KongHwa Chiu 79-87

8 Actinide(III) Recovery from High Active Waste Solutions Using Innovative Partitioning Processes
Giuseppe Modolo 89-105

9 Combining Octyl(phenyl)-N,N-diisobutyl-carbamoylmethylphosphine Oxide and Bis-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric Acid
Extractants for Recovering Transuranic Elements from Irradiated Nuclear Fuel
Gregg J. Lumetta, Jennifer C. Carter, Artem V. Gelis, and George F. Vandegrift 107-118

10 Development of a Novel GANEX Process
Emma Aneheim, Christian Ekberg, Anna Fermvik, and Mark R. S. Foreman 119-130

11 Extraction Chromatographic Separation of Trivalent Minor Actinides Using iHex-BTP/SiO2-P Resin
N. Surugaya, Y. Sano, M. Yamamoto, A. Kurosawa, and T. Hiyama 131-139

12 Recent Advances in the Development of the Hybrid Sulfur Process for Hydrogen Production
H. R. Colon-Mercado, M. C. Elvington, J. L. Steimke, T. J. Steeper, D. T. Herman, M. B. Gorensek, W. A. Summers, and D. T.
Hobbs 141-154

13 Green Process for Uranium Separations Utilizing Molybdenum Trioxide
Mohamed Chehbouni, Hamed Al-Busaidi, and Allen W. Apblett 155-167

14 Alpha Spectrometry of Thick Samples for Environmental and Bioassay Monitoring
T. M. Semkow, A. J. Khan, D. K. Haines, A. Bari, G. Sibbens, S. Pommé, S. E. Beach, I. AlMahamid, and G. L. Beach 169-177
Radiation Chemistry 179

15 An Overview of Selected Radiation Chemical Reactions Affecting Fuel Cycle Solvent Extraction
Bruce J. Mincher 181-192

16 Aqueous Nitric Acid Radiation Effects on Solvent Extraction Process Chemistry
Stephen P. Mezyk, Thomas D. Cullen, Gracy Elias, and Bruce J. Mincher 193-203

17 Nitration Mechanisms of Anisole during Gamma Irradiation of Aqueous Nitrite and Nitrate Solutions
Gracy Elias, Bruce J. Mincher, Stephen P. Mezyk, Thomas D. Cullen, and Leigh R. Martin 205-214

18 Radiolytic Degradation of Heterocyclic Nitrogen Containing Ligands from Low Dose-Rate Gamma Sources
Anna Fermvik, Mikael Nilsson, and Christian Ekberg 215-229

19 Kinetics and Efficiencies of Radiolytic Degradation in Lanthanide/Actinide Separation Ligands - NOPOPO
Katy L. Swancutt, Stephen P. Mezyk, Leigh R. Martin, Richard D. Tillotson, Sylvie Pailloux, Manab Chakravarty, and Robert
T. Paine 231-242

20 Effects of Aqueous Phase Radiolysis on Lactic Acid Under TALSPEAK Conditions
Leigh R. Martin, Bruce J. Mincher, Stephen P. Mezyk, Gracy Elias, and Richard D. Tillotson 243-253

21 DIAMEX Solvent Behavior under Continuous Degradation and Regeneration Operations
B. Camès, I. Bisel, P. Baron, C. Hill, D. Rudloff, and B. Saucerotte 255-269

22 Steady-State Radiolysis: Effects of Dissolved Additives
J. C. Wren 271-295

Repository Chemistry 297

23 Bridging the Gap in the Chemical Thermodynamic Database for Nuclear Waste Repository: Studies of the Effect of
Temperature on Actinide Complexation
Linfeng Rao, Guoxin Tian, Yuanxian Xia, Judah I. Friese, PierLuigi Zanonato, and Plinio Di Bernardo 299-318

24 Evaluation of THOR™ Mineralized Waste Forms (Granular and Monolith) for the DOE Advanced Remediation
Technologies (ART) Phase 2 Project
C. L. Crawford and C. M Jantzen 319-331

25 Effects of Organic Acids on Biotransformation of Acinides
Toshihiko Ohnuki, Naofumi Kozai, Takuo Ozaki, Fuminori Sakamoto, Yoshinori Suzuki, and Takahiro Yoshida 333-348

26 The Role of Dissolved Hydrogen on the Corrosion/Dissolution of Spent Nuclear Fuel
M. E. Broczkowski, D. Zagidulin, and D. W. Shoesmith 349-380

27 Integrated Repository Science for the Long-Term Prediction of Nuclear Waste Disposal
Patricia Paviet-Hartmann and Thomas Hartmann 381-404

Indexes 405

Author Index 407

Subject Index 409-414
Preface
A renewed global interest in nuclear power is underway due to concerns about the
contribution of combustion of fossil fuels to climate change and the unreliability of the
supplyoffossilfuels.Nuclearpoweriscurrentlyanimportantsourceofcarbon-free,safe,
anddomesticenergyinmanycountries. However,concernsaboutnuclearwastedisposal
and the proliferation of nuclear weapons have hindered its expanded use and continued
development. Asworlddemandforenergycontinuestorise,itisrecognizedthatnuclear
energy will be required to meet this demand in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Responsible management of nuclear wastes, more efficient processes for conversion of
uraniumtoenergy,andeffectiveandsecuretechniquesforrecyclingusednuclearfuelare
someofthekeyissueswhichmustbeaddressedinordertodevelopsustainablenuclear
energytechnologiesforthe21stcentury.
Thisbookisbasedonthepaperspresentedatarecentandverysuccessfulsymposium
entitled Nuclear Energy and the Environment held at the 238th American Chemical
Society (ACS) National Meeting in Washington, DC, August 16-20, 2009. The 3-day
ACS symposium was well attended with participants from Canada, France, Germany,
Japan,Sweden,Taiwan,andtheUSAdiscussingresearchideasandprogressinseparation
of actinides and fission products, green separation techniques, radiation effects, and
repositorychemistry.Thisbookstartswithanoverviewofchallengesinactinideseparation
chemistryforadvancednuclearfuelcyclesandroadmapsofnewcleanuptechnologiesby
theU.S.DepartmentofEnergy. Itisfollowedby3sectionscoveringrecentresearchand
developmentinseparationschemistry,radiationchemistry,andrepositorychemistry. The
book documents reasons to be optimistic for the future of nuclear power and challenges
facingnuclearscientistsandengineerstoday.
WeacknowledgesupportfromtheACSNuclearChemistryandTechnologyDivision
andtheSeparationScienceandTechnologySubdivisionoftheACSDivisionofIndustrial
andEngineeringChemistryforthesymposium. TheACSBooksDepartmentisthanked
fortheirencouragementandsupportinthepublicationofthebook. Finally,wethankthe

authorsfortheircontributionsandthereviewersfortheirtimeandvaluablecomments.
ChienM.Wai
DepartmentofChemistry
UniversityofIdaho,Moscow,Idaho83844
BruceJ.Mincher
AqueousSeparationsandRadiochemistryDepartment
IdahoNationalLaboratory,IdahoFalls,Idaho83415
xi
In Nuclear Energy and the Environment; Wai, C., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010.
Acknowledgement
Theeditorsthankthefollowingassociateeditorsfortheirhelpinorganizing
thesymposium,editingmanuscripts,andgreatlyimprovingthequalityofthefinal
symposiumseriesbook: LinfengRao,DeanR.Peterman,SydneyS.Koegler,and
MarshaJ.Lambregts.

xiii
In Nuclear Energy and the Environment; Wai, C., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010.