Electrochemistry of Actinides and Selected Fission Products in the Head End of Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing

The data on the uranium metal corrosion rate in the solutions of nitric acid (0,1 – 4 M) and effect of complex forming agents on uranium corrosion properties are presented. The increase of HNO₃ concentration caused the shift of corrosion potential from 38 mV to 446 mV and the increase of the corrosion rate from 0,02 to 0,62 mg.cm^-2h^-1. Transpassivation potential of U metal was found weakly effected by HNO₃ concentration varying from 448 to 470 mV/Ag/AgCl. The addition of HCOOH to the electrolytes containing less than 3 M HNO₃ found to shift the values of corrosion potentials about 500 mV towards negative direction reducing the passivation of U metal. The data on the kinetics of oxidative dissolution of PuO₂ using Ag(II) and Am(VI,V) as mediators and the effect of the mediator generation techniques are discussed. The electrochemical properties of UC in the solutions 2 – 4 M HNO₃, results of the quantitative determination of “oxidizable carbon” in dissolver solutions are presented. The results of corrosion and dissolution studies of Tc metal and Tc - Ru alloys containing from 19 to 70 at.% Ru in 0.5 0– 6 M HNO3 indicate the formation of passive films of Tc(IV) – Ru(III,IV) hydroxides at the electrode surface in the solutions containing less than 2 M HNO₃ at the potentials less than 650 mV/Ag/AgCl. The increase of HNO3 concentration to values exceeding 3 M and the shift of the electrode potential towards positive direction causes the transition of the Tc and Tc-Ru alloys to transpassive state. The values of transpassivation potentials increase with the increasing with HNO₃ concentration. Quantitative dissolution of Tc metal without application of oxidation potential becomes possible in the electrolytes, containing more than 4 M HNO₃. The rate of Tc – Ru alloys dissolution is noticed to slow down with the increase of Ru content in the alloy.     

Chemical and electrochemical behavior of metallic technetium in acidic media

The chemical and electrochemical properties of technetium metal were studied in 1–6 M HX and in 1 M NaX (pH 1 and 2.5), X = Cl, NO₃. The chemical dissolution rates of Tc metal were higher in HNO₃ than in HCl (i.e. 8.63 × 10^?5 mol cm^?2 h^?1 in 6 M HNO₃ versus 2.05 × 10^?9 mol cm^?2 h^?1 in 6 M HCl). The electrochemical dissolution rates in HNO₃ and HCl were similar and mainly depended on the electrochemical potential and the acid concentration. The optimum dissolution of Tc metal was obtained in 1 M HNO₃ at 1 V/AgAgCl (1.70 × 10^?3 mol cm^?2 h^?1). The dissolution potentials of Tc metal in nitric acid were in the range of 0.596–0.832 V/AgAgCl. Comparison of Tc behavior with Mo and Ru indicated that in HNO₃, the dissolution rate followed the order: Mo > Tc > Ru, and for dissolution potential the order: E _diss(Ru) > E _diss(Tc) > E _diss(Mo). The corrosion products of Tc metal were analyzed in HCl solution by UV–Visible spectroscopy and showed the presence of TcO₄ ^?. The surface of the electrode was characterized by microscopic techniques; it indicated that Tc metal preferentially corroded at the scratches formed during the polishing and no oxide layer was observed.     

Dissolution of molybdenum-silicon (-boron) alloys using a mixture of sulfuric, nitric and hydrofluoric acids and a sequential correction method for ICP-AES analysis

For the major component analysis of Mo-Si (-B) alloys by ICP-AES, an appropriate dissolution method is necessary. The general procedure using a HNO₃-HF mixture cannot be applied for Mo-Si (-B) alloys due to Si volatilization followed by violent reaction and due to MoO₂ precipitation in the preparation of a Mo standard solution from metallic Mo. Good results were obtained with a mixture of 10 mL H₂SO₄, 1 mL HNO₃, 2 mL HF and 12 mL H₂O for Mo-Si (-B) alloys. The samples were completely dissolved at room temperature without any losses. A sequential correction method is also suggested to correct several errors in ICP-AES analysis such as ?uctuation in the emission intensities, spectral interferences, non-spectral interferences and blank values.     

Influence of chloride and sediment matrix on the extractability of HgS (cinnabar and metacinnabar) by nitric acid

The extractability of metacinnabar and cinnabar, alone or in the presence of some sediment components, with various concentrations of HNO₃ (1, 4, 6, and 14 M) was studied. Both forms of HgS (0.2–0.3 mg HgS in 10–20 mL of acid) were insoluble in all HNO₃ concentrations as pure compounds. The presence of FeCl₃ enhanced solubility of both cinnabar and metacinnabar, especially when concentrated HNO₃ was used for the extraction. As the same effect was not obtained in the presence of FeOOH, we concluded that chloride and not Fe³⁺ was responsible for HgS dissolution. In fact, addition of very low chloride concentration to concentrated HNO₃ provoked partial (Cl>10^–4 M) or even total dissolution (Cl>10^–2 M) of HgS. In dilute HNO₃ (4–6 M) cinnabar was much less affected by chloride addition than metacinnabar. Extraction of HgS by concentrated HNO₃ in the presence of sediment of various salinities demonstrated that the amount of dissolved HgS increased with the increase of the sediment salinity (from freshwater to estuarine and marine sediment), confirming that chloride enhances dissolution of HgS. Removal of chloride by washing the sediment with Milli-Q water significantly reduced dissolution of added HgS during extraction by concentrated HNO₃. These results demonstrate that conclusions based on the extraction schemes using concentrated HNO₃ as single extractant or as the first extractant in the sequential extraction procedures can be biased. A verification of artifactual oxidation of HgS, when using more concentrated HNO₃ as extractant, would help to verify reliability of the applied extraction procedure.     

The kinetics of zinc dissolution in nitric acid

The dissolution of zinc in 0.48–1.49M HNO₃ was studied at 15–25°C, by following simultaneously the concentration changes of the reactants (Zn and HNO₃), intermediate (HNO₂) and product (Zn²⁺) with time. Explicit mechanisms were suggested for the dissolution of zinc in nitric acid. The kinetics of the dissolution process show that it is of the first-order with respect to [Zn] and [HNO₂]. The data obtained show that the dissolution process is diffusion-controlled. The mechanism of zinc dissolution is compared with the mechanism of copper dissolution.

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Die Kinetik der Auflösung von Zink in Salpetersäure

Zusammenfassung Die Auflösung von Zink in 0.48–1.49M HNO₃ wurde bei 15–25°C mittels gleichzeitiger Verfolgung der Konzentrationsänderungen der Reaktanden (Zn und HNO₃), des intermediären HNO₂ und des Produkts Zn²⁺ untersucht. Es wird ein Mechanismus vorgeschlagen. Die Kinetik der Auflösung ist erster Ordnung bezüglich [Zn] und [HNO₂]. Die Daten zeigen, daß der Auflösungsvorgang diffusionskontrolliert ist. Der Mechanismus der Auflösung von Zink wird mit dem der Kupferauflösung verglichen.

     

Solid formation in simulated high level liquid waste of relatively low nitric acid concentration

Solid formation in a simulated high level liquid waste (HLLW) was experimentally examined at 2M and 0.5M nitric acid concentrations. The precipitation studies were conducted by refluxing the simulated HLLW around 100°C. Zr, Mo, Te and Ru were major precipitation elements in both 2M and 0.5M HNO₃ solutions. The amount of precipitate in 2M HNO₃ solution decreased with decreasing Zr concentration and no precipitation was found in the solution without Zr. Only about 10% of Zr, Mo and Te were precipitated, if the Mo/Zr ratio in the 0.5M HNO₃ solution was kept below 0.5. Complete removal of Zr and Mo was the most effective way to prevent solid formation in the solution with 2M and 0.5M HNO₃ concentrations.     

Microwave-assisted dissolution of ceramic uranium dioxide in TBP–HNO3 complex

Microwave-assisted dissolution of ceramic uranium dioxide in tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP)–HNO₃ complex was investigated. The research on dissolution of ceramic uranium dioxide in TBP–HNO₃ inclusion complex under microwave heating showed the efficiency of the use of this method. Nitric acid present in the inclusion complex participates both dissolution of UO₂, and oxidation of U(IV)–U(VI), the resulting UO₂(NO₃)₂ extracted with tri-n-butyl phosphate. Dissolution rate depends on both temperature of microwave dissolution process, and concentration of nitric acid present in the inclusion complex. The most intensive dissolution process is when the concentration of nitric acid ≥2 mol/L and the temperature of 120 °C. From the experimental data obtained by two kinetic models activation energies were calculated. At the average activation energy of UO₂ dissolution in TBP–HNO₃ complex equal 70 kJ/mol, and reaction order is close to one, i.e. the reaction takes place in an area close to kinetic.     

Kinetics of the electrodissolution of metallic uranium

The kinetics of the anodic dissolution of metallic uranium in 1, 2, 3, and 4 mol^.l^-1 HNO₃ solutions at 30 °C were studied by potentiostatic polarization. The dissolved uranium was determined by polarography and the anodic dissolution rates by the initial rate method. It was observed that the dissolution rate increases with the applied potential, but is independent of the HNO₃ concentration, because it is a zero order reaction. A mechanism for the anodic reaction was proposed based on the adsorption theory.     

Total dissolution of environmental and biological samples by closed-vessel microwave digestion for radiometric analysis

Dry soil, fish-fillet ash, and grass ash were dissolved with a closed-vesselmicrowave oven system and mineral acids. Reagents and dissolution conditionswere varied to ensure total dissolution and recovery of radionuclides. Solventsto dissolve 99.9% of the mass of 3 g samples satisfactorily were 45 ml 14NHF followed by 60 ml 4N HNO₃ saturated with H₃BO₃ for soil, 60 ml 9N HNO₃ followed by 60 ml 14N HF for grass,and 60 ml 9N HNO₃ for fish. The reliability of the dissolutionwas tested with samples from the DOE Quality Assurance Program.     

Boron determination in biological materials by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and mass spectrometry: effects of sample dissolution methods

This study compares four sample dissolution methods for Boron determination in two National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) botanical Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) and three Agriculture Canada/NIST RMs, each having a reference (certified or best estimate) B concentration. The dissolution treatments consisted of: 1) dry ashing at 500° C, 2) wet digestion with HNO₃ + H₂O₂, 3) extraction with hot HNO₃ and 4) closed vessel microwave dissolution. The samples were spiked before and after imposing dissolution treatments to study B recovery by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) analysis. Microwave digests of NIST SRM 1515 and some in-house RMs were also used to compare the B values of ICP-MS and ICP-AES (atomic emission spectrometry). While all three digestion methods (dry ashing, wet ashing and microwave) dissolved botanical samples, only the microwave method worked well for animal tissues. In terms of B values in these materials, there was no significant difference among the three digestion treatments. Near 100% recovery of B spiked before and after the sample dissolution indicates that there may not be a significant loss of B during the dissolution process used in this study. Extraction with hot HNO₃ was as effective as the three digestion treatments, and B values for this method agreed well with reference values. For the botanical materials studied, the B values determined by ICP-AES were not significantly different from ICP-MS values. This study shows that a simple, time and labor efficient hot HNO₃ extraction is as effective as other digestion/dissolution methods for quantitative B recovery from biological materials. Received: 13 June 1996 / Revised: 17 September 1996 / Accepted: 19 September 1996     

Accurate and precise reference method for the determination of chromium in high-alloy steel

Methods for determining chromium in high-alloy steels based on potentiometric titration after oxidation of chromium(III) to chromium(VI) with peroxodisulphate were studied using different dissolution procedures, viz., dissolution in HClHNO₃ and fuming with H₂SO₄H₃PO₄, dissolution in HClHNO₃ and fuming with HClO₄, dissolution in HClHNO₃HF in a microwave oven, fusion in sodium peroxide in a zirconium crucible and dissolution in dilute H₂SO₄ and oxidation with H₂O₂. A back-titration was used with dichromate after addition of solid ammonium iron (II) sulphate.The dissolution procedures were tested on 24 certified reference materials (0.01–3.3% C, 10–325% Cr). All procedures except the second gave good results for samples with ? 0.8% C. For samples with ? 0.8% C, the third and fourth procedures gave significantly higher values and better precisions, and gave the best results for all samples. The relative standard deviations were, with few exceptions, below 0.2%.     

Study on Properties of TBP-HNO3 Complex Used for Direct Dissolution of Lanthanide and Actinide Oxides in Supercritical Fluid CO2

The tri-n-butyl phosphate-nitric acid （TBP-HNO3） complex prepared by contacting the pure TBP with the concentrated HNO3 can be used for direct dissolution of lanthanide and actinide oxides in the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide （SCF-CO2）. Properties of the TBP-HNO3 complex have been studied. Experimental results showed that when the initial HNO3/TBP volume ratio was varied from 1 ： 7 to 5 ： 1, the concentration of HNO3 in the TBP-HNO3 complex changed from 1.95 to 5.89 mol/L, the [HNO3]/[TBP] ratio of the TBP-HNO3 complex changed from 0.61 to 2.22, and the content of H20 in the TBP-HNO3 complex changed from 2.02% to 4.19%. All of the density, viscosity and surface tension of the TBP-HNO3 complex changed with the concentration of HNO3 in the complex, and were higher than those of the pure TBE The protons of HNO3 and H2O in the complex underwent rapid exchange to exhibit a singlet resonance peak in nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. When the TBP-HNO3 complex was dissolved in a low dielectric constant solvent, small droplets of HNO3 were formed that can be detected by NMR.     

Persulfate Oxidation and Diphenylcarbazide Photometric Determination of Chromium in Super Alloys

The quantitative analysis of Cr in super alloys with the presence of a wide variety of elements, Al, B, C, Co, Cu, Hf, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Nb, P, Si, S, Ti, Ta, W, Zr; and trace amounts (a few ppm) of Pb, Se, Bi, Tl and Te has been studied. Persulfate oxidation and diphenylcarbazide photometric method were studied with the purpose of developing a relatively fast and reliable measurement for Cr by wet chemical analysis. The results indicate that the latter is supperior to the former in practical view. In the photometric method, solid sample (0.1g alloys) when treated with HClO₄ and H₂SO₄ took ca. 72 hrs. for complete dissolution. When treated with HCl followed by HNO₃, 0.1 g alloys were completely dissolved within 1&1/2; hours. The best experimental conditions for diphenylcarbazide photometric determination of Cr was thus established. Photometric determination of Cr complexes was made at 540 nm.     

Radiochemical separation methods for the determination of some toxic elements in biological reference materials

The present paper describes radiochemical separation procedures developed for the determination of the elements As, Cr, Hg, Sb and Se in biological reference materials. The methods chosen utilize ion exchange, retention on inorganic exchangers and solvent extraction techniques for the isolation of the elements of interest. These procedures are more rapid than previously used methods, such as distillation and precipitation. As to the sample dissolution, the following procedures were tested using radioactive tracers and reference materials: treatment of the materials in teflon bombs with a mixture of HNO₃+H₂SO₄ or HNO₃ only in a normal oven, and with HNO₃ in a microwave oven using specially designed digestion bombs.     

Electrocatalysis on binary alloys: II. Oxidation of molecular hydrogen on supported Pt+Ru alloys

The electrocatalytic properties of Pt+Ru alloys supported on graphitized carbon have been studied using oxide-free metal alloys that have been well characterized for phase identification, specific metal surface area, and surface composition. The CO tolerance of the Pt+Ru alloys for the oxidation of CO contaminated hydrogen in hot concentrated H₃PO₄ increases monotonically with Ru content of the surface and is a direct result of a decreasing coverage of the alloy by adsorbed CO. Furthermore, the strength of bonding of adsorbed CO with the metal surface decreases dramatically with increasing Ru content in the surface. The absolute activity of Pt+Ru alloys for the oxidation of CO contaminated hydrogen is a complex function of temperature and electrode potential. At 160°C, pure Pt is the most active catalyst at all potentials, but at temperatures lower than 120°C the reaction-limiting current for pure Ru exceeds that of pure Pt. At any temperature from 110–160°C or any electrode potential from 0–0.3V (HE), the variation of electrocatalytic activity with alloy composition indicates only dilution of the activity of the more active component.     

Chemical dissolution of total content of fallout plutonium in deep-sea sediment

Simple nitric acid leaching and alkali fusion techniques for the determination of the total content of fallout^239,240Pu in deep-sea sediment were compared. Leaching neither with boiling conc. HNO₃ nor with boiling conc. HNO₃+H₂O₂ was found to be sufficient. The sodium hydroxide fusion technique yielded reproducible analytical results and is proposed as an optimum dissolution method for quantitative determination of the total content of fallout^239,240Pu in deep-sea sediment.     

Behaviour of trace impurities during chemical dissolution of a metal: Platinum elements in aluminium and nickel

In order to study the behaviour of trace impurities during aqueous dissolution of a sample, aluminium and nickel-based alloys containing 10⁻⁴−1% Ir, Os or Ru were used. Yields of chemical separations such as distillation and ion-exchange were chosen as dissolution criteria. Dissolution of aluminium samples leads to precipitation of the three impurities. The Os and Ru precipitates can afterwards be dissolved by an oxidation procedure, in contrast to commercial powders of these elements. This behaviour may be explained in terms of the small grain-size of the precipitates. The indium precipitates cannot be dissolved, which prevents quantitative separation of this element from an aluminium matrix. In the case of nickel alloys, these three impurities are dissolved and can be quantitatively separated.     

Properties of TRPO-HNO<Subscript>3</Subscript> complex used for direct dissolution of lanthanide and actinide oxides in supercritical fluid CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The mixed trialkylphosphine oxide-nitric acid (TRPO-HNO₃) complex prepared by contacting pure TRPO with concentrated HNO₃ may be used as additives for direct dissolution of lanthanide and actinide oxides in the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SCF-CO₂). Properties of the TRPO-HNO₃ complex have been studied. Experimental results show when the initial HNO₃/TRPO volume ratio is varied from 1:7 to 5:1, the concentration of HNO₃ in the TRPO-HNO₃ complex changes from 2.12 to 6.16 mol/L, the [HNO₃]/[TRPO] ratio of the TRPO-HNO₃ complex changes from 0.93 to 3.38, and the content of H₂O in the TRPO-HNO₃ complex changes from 0.97% to 2.70%. All of the density, viscosity and surface tension of the TRPO-HNO₃ complex change with the concentration of HNO₃ in the complex. The protons of HNO₃ and H₂O in the complex undergo rapid exchange to exhibit a singlet resonance peak in NMR spectra with D₂O insert. When the TRPO-HNO₃ complex dissolves in a low dielectric constant solvent, small droplets of HNO₃ appear which can be detected by NMR. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20506014)     

Formation of palladium precipitate by hydrazine in a simulated high level liquid waste

The formation of precipitates by hydrazine was experimentally examined in the simulated high level liquid waste (HLLW), which was composed of 9 elements (Nd, Fe, Ni, Mo, Zr, Pd, Ru, Cs, Sr). Palladium was precipitated over 90% above 0.05M of hydrazine concentration and at 2M HNO₃, while all of the other elements were hardly precipitated. The elements of Pd and Zr were precipitated 93% and 70% in the simulated solution in which the concentrations of Zr and Mo were decreased from 0.069M to 3.45·10^–3M and 6.9·10^–3M, respectively, and the acid concentration was decreased to about 0.5M after denitration. In a Pd solution of 0.5M and 2M HNO₃, the precipitation yield of Pd increased with hydrazine concentration and reached over 98% at 0.1M. The precipitation yield of Pd at 0.5M HNO₃ was higher than at 2M HNO₃. The Pd precipitate, formed by adding hydrazine to an acidified solution, was an amorphous compound consisting of Pd, hydrazine, nitrate and hydrate.     

Application of Metalfix Chelamine prior to the determination of noble metals by the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Metalfix Chelamine chelating resins of two different bead sizes (150-300 and 40-80 μm) were examined and compared regarding their application for sorption of Au, Ir, Pd, Pt, Rh and Ru ions from medium of HCl, HNO₃ and mixtures of HCl and HNO₃. The quantitative enrichment of Au, Ir, Pd and Pt was established for the resin of 150-300 μm particle size and for solutions acidified with HCl and HNO₃ (3:1) up to the concentration of 0.50 mol l⁻¹. In the case of Rh and Ru, the uptake of these metals by the resin was lower than 50%. For the elution, solutions of different reagents, i.e. HCl, HNO₃, KCN, KI, KSCN and (NH₂)₂CS, were studied with respect to the complete release of the analytes retained by the resin. In addition, influence of various base metals, i.e. Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, on the retention of the noble metals was investigated. Under the selected conditions for the retention and elution of Au, Ir, Pd and Pt, the analytical performance of the proposed pre-concentration procedure was evaluated and it was applied to the determination of these noble metals in anodic sludge sample.