A facile and novel process for the preparation of 147Pm source

Aiming the selective recovery of palladium from high level radioactive liquid waste (HLW), a chelating thiamide type sorbent, CWP–TU, was prepared by the modification of Japanese cedar wood powder (CWP). Convection oven and microwave heating were separately used for modification purpose and found that microwave heating is more effective over oven heating. CWP–TU was extensively studied for the adsorption of Pd(II) from nitric acid medium. The batch test showed that nitric acid concentration of 3 M or higher is favorable for Pd(II) loading. Consistent adsorption of Pd(II) under gamma irradiation condition demonstrated the feasibility of using CWP–TU in real HLW. Also, Pd(II) only adsorption from simulated HLW solution verified the palladium only selectivity of the sorbent as well as the lack of influence of coexisting metal ions on its affinity toward Pd(II). CWP–TU holds maximum Pd(II) loading capacities of 0.98 mol/kg at 30 °C and 1.04 mol/kg under gamma irradiation. A comparative study using some ion exchange resins revealed that the resins are either ineffective in nitrate medium or lack stability under irradiation.