The use of the N,N-diethyldodecanamide for actinide extraction in conjunction with liquid scintillation counting

The extraction properties of N,N-diethyldodecanamide in hydrochloric and nitric acid solutions for uranium, plutonium, thorium and americium have been investigated. As a primary step, the liquid scintillation performances of organic solutions of the amide have been studied revealing a moderate quenching and a lower energy resolution than HDEHP. Nitric acid, uranyl nitrate and thorium nitrate extraction systems have been modeled, taking into account the stoichiometric mean activity coefficients in aqueous solutions. A general protocol to analyse actinides (U, Th, Pu and Am) in soils in conjunction with liquid scintillation counting is proposed using this amide together with other extractants (TOPO, HDEHP).