Study Actinides

Molten salt extraction residues are processed to recover plutonium by an aqueous precipitation process. The residues are dissolved in dilute HC1, the actinides are precipitated with potassium carbonate, and the precipitate redissolved in nitric acid (7M) to convert from a chloride to a nitrate system. The plutonium is then recovered from the 7M HNO3 by anion exchange and the effluent sent to waste or americium recovery. We are studying actinide (III) carbonate chemistry and looking at new... 

Hexavalent. The best-studied actinide hexachloride is uranium hexachloride, UCl. This compound is prepared by chlorination of UCI4 with SbCls. The disproportionation of UCI5 to form UCI4 and UCl provides a second route to access the hexachloride. An alternative preparative approach is the disproportionation of UCI5 to UCI4 and UCl. The hexachloride is isostmctural with the hexafluoride, being monomeric with an octahedral arrangement of the chlorine atoms around the uranium center. 

The pentacarbonato salts of thorium(IV) and uranium(IV) are among the most well-studied actinide solids. They can be prepared directly by precipitation from carbonate solutions, or indirectly by the decomposition of oxolates or reduction of actinyl(V, VI) species. The salts of formula MgAn(C03)5-nH20 (An = Th, U Mg = Nag, Kg, Tig, [Co(NH3)g]2, [C(NH2)3]3[(NH4)]3,... 

Uranium, the heaviest natural element, is also the most widely studied actinide because 1) depleted uranium is easy to manipulate, 2) uranium production is essential for nuclear industry, 3) it is an important constituent of nuclear waste, 4) in material science, U compounds have possible applications as ion exchangers, ionic conductors, selective oxidation catalysts or storage materials for radionuclides, 5) it occurs in several oxidation states and, finally, 6) hexavalent uranium has a propensity to display several coordination environments. 

Geist, A., Weigl, M., Gompper, K., DIAMEX process development studies Actinide(III)-lanthanide co-extraction in a hollow fiber module, in Proceedings of the International Workshop on P T and ADS Development, SCK-CEN, Mol, Belgium, October 6-8, 2003. 

Before going on to consider the biochemistry of the actinides it is worth pausing to put the subject into perspective by musing upon the raison d etre for studying actinide metabolism and biochemistry in the first place. 

The An02 ions have been produced by reaction (4) for An = Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, and Am, with kinetics as sununaiized in Table 5. The Cm02 ion, which has the lowest OAn —O bond dissociation energy (BDE) of the studied actinides, was not observed under thermal reaction conditirais with any of the employed oxidants but was produced in the hyperthermal reaction of CmO with O2. The Th02 irai was produced under thermal conditions with the kinetically and thermodynamically facile oxidant C2H4O (ethylene oxide) and also with the kinetically hindered oxidant N2O. The reaction of ThO ... 

Tracer studies using 253Es show that einsteinium has chemical properties typical of a heavy trivalent, actinide element. 

Isotopes sufficiently long-Hved for work in weighable amounts are obtainable, at least in principle, for all of the actinide elements through fermium (100) these isotopes with their half-Hves are Hsted in Table 2 (4). Not all of these are available as individual isotopes. It appears that it will always be necessary to study the elements above fermium by means of the tracer technique (except for some very special experiments) because only isotopes with short half-Hves are known. 

Special techniques for experimentation with the actinide elements other than Th and U have been devised because of the potential health ha2ard to the experimenter and the small amounts available (15). In addition, iavestigations are frequently carried out with the substance present ia very low coaceatratioa as a radioactive tracer. Such procedures coatiaue to be used to some exteat with the heaviest actinide elements, where only a few score atoms may be available they were used ia the earHest work for all the transuranium elements. Tracer studies offer a method for obtaining knowledge of oxidation states, formation of complex ions, and the solubiHty of various compounds. These techniques are not appHcable to crystallography, metallurgy, and spectroscopic studies. 

Microchemical or ultramicrochemical techniques are used extensively ia chemical studies of actinide elements (16). If extremely small volumes are used, microgram or lesser quantities of material can give relatively high concentrations in solution. Balances of sufficient sensitivity have been developed for quantitative measurements with these minute quantities of material. Since the amounts of material involved are too small to be seen with the unaided eye, the actual chemical work is usually done on the mechanical stage of a microscope, where all of the essential apparatus is in view. Compounds prepared on such a small scale are often identified by x-ray crystallographic methods. 

Table 6 presents a summary of the oxidation—reduction characteristics of actinide ions (12—14,17,20). The disproportionation reactions of UO2, Pu , PUO2, and AmO are very compHcated and have been studied extensively. In the case of plutonium, the situation is especially complex four oxidation states of plutonium [(111), (IV), (V), and (VI) ] can exist together ia aqueous solution ia equiUbrium with each other at appreciable concentrations. 

Potential fusion appHcations other than electricity production have received some study. For example, radiation and high temperature heat from a fusion reactor could be used to produce hydrogen by the electrolysis or radiolysis of water, which could be employed in the synthesis of portable chemical fuels for transportation or industrial use. The transmutation of radioactive actinide wastes from fission reactors may also be feasible. This idea would utilize the neutrons from a fusion reactor to convert hazardous isotopes into more benign and easier-to-handle species. The practicaUty of these concepts requires further analysis. 

The throwaway fuel cycle does not recover the energy values present ia the irradiated fuel. Instead, all of the long-Hved actinides are routed to the final waste repository along with the fission products. Whether or not this is a desirable alternative is determined largely by the scope of the evaluation study. For instance, when only the value of the recovered yellow cake and SWU equivalents are considered, the world market values for these commodities do not fully cover the cost of reprocessing (2). However, when costs attributable to the disposal of large quantities of actinides are considered, the classical fuel cycle has been the choice of virtually all countries except the United States. 

The primary issue is to prevent groundwater from becoming radioactively contaminated. Thus, the property of concern of the long-lived radioactive species is their solubility in water. The long-lived actinides such as plutonium are metallic and insoluble even if water were to penetrate into the repository. Certain fission-product isotopes such as iodine-129 and technicium-99 are soluble, however, and therefore represent the principal although very low level hazard. Studies of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, tentatively chosen as the site for the spent fuel and high level waste repository, are underway (44). 

Solvent for Electrolytic Reactions. Dimethyl sulfoxide has been widely used as a solvent for polarographic studies and a more negative cathode potential can be used in it than in water. In DMSO, cations can be successfully reduced to metals that react with water. Thus, the following metals have been electrodeposited from their salts in DMSO cerium, actinides, iron, nickel, cobalt, and manganese as amorphous deposits zinc, cadmium, tin, and bismuth as crystalline deposits and chromium, silver, lead, copper, and titanium (96—103). Generally, no metal less noble than zinc can be deposited from DMSO. 

Hydroxides. Thorium (TV) is generally less resistant to hydrolysis than similarly sized lanthanides, and more resistant to hydrolysis than tetravalent ions of other early actinides, eg, U, Np, and Pu. Many of the thorium(IV) hydrolysis studies indicate stepwise hydrolysis to yield monomeric products of formula Th(OH) , where n is integral between 1 and 4, in addition to a number of polymeric species (40—43). More recent potentiometric titration studies indicate that only two of the monomeric species, Th(OH) " and thorium hydroxide [13825-36-0], Th(OH)4, are important in dilute (<10 M Th) solutions (43). However, in a Th02 [1314-20-1] solubiUty study, the best fit to the experimental data required inclusion of the species. Th(OH) 2 (44). In more concentrated (>10 Af) solutions, polynuclear species have been shown to exist. Eor example, a more recent model includes the dimers Th2(OH) " 2 the tetramers Th4(OH) " g and Th4(OH) 2 two hexamers, Th2(OH) " 4 and Th2(OH) " 2 (43). 

Oxides of the actinides are refractory materials and, in fact, Th02 has the highest mp (3390°C) of any oxide. They have been extensively studied because of their importance as nuclear fuels. However, they are exceedingly complicated because of the prevalence of polymorphism, nonstoichiometry and intermediate phases. The simple stoichiometries quoted in Table 31.5 should therefore be regarded as idealized compositions. 

Several oxohalides are also known, mostly of the types An OaXa, An OaX, An OXa and An "OX, but they have been less thoroughly studied than the halides. They are commonly prepared by oxygenation of the halide with O2 or Sb203, or in case of AnOX by hydrolysis (sometimes accidental) of AnX3. As is to be expected, the higher oxidation states are formed more readily by the lighter actinides thus An02X2, apart from the fluoro compounds, are confined to An = U. Conversely the lower oxidation states are favoured by the heavier actinides (from Am onwards). 

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