Dissertation
FUNCTIONALIZATION CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION OF DIPICOLINATE DERIVATIVES WITH f-ELEMENT COMPLEXES
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2013
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/111063
Abstract
Fissile materials like 235U and 239Pu are the most energy dense fuel source known to mankind. The attraction to harnessing atomic energy in nuclear power plants has been gaining attention as an alternative clean and efficient power source. A limiting factor for utilizing this technology as a fuel source stems from the political, financial, and technological limitations related to reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. To consider nuclear power as a primary means of electricity in the future, closing the nuclear fuel cycle and managing the waste generated from these processes is essential. Closing the nuclear fuel cycle through reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and transmutation of the long lived decay product actinides has the potential to enhance nuclear energy sustainability and minimize radiotoxicity hazards of irradiated fuels. Currently, the only method of industrial-scale reprocessing in the world is the PUREX process, for the recovery of uranium and plutonium. Separation and transmutation of the long lived minor actinides is crucial for reducing the time spent nuclear material is to be stored in a geological repository. Several processes in developmental stages (SANEX, DIAMEX, TRUSPEAK, and TALSPEAK), are being evaluated for the partitioning of fission product lanthanides from actinides. The separation of lanthanides from transplutonium actinides is a key step for advancing a closed nuclear fuel cycle. In the U.S., TALSPEAK-like processes are being evaluated for this task. Partitioning of the concentrated lactic acid buffer in the TALSPEAK process complicates this already complex chemistry. To reduce or eliminate the undesirable effect of lactic acid, an alternative aqueous feed is to be evaluated. The use of dipicolinic acid (DPA) as the actinide selective stripping agent could bring significant simplification. Overcoming solubility limitations of DPA in acidic media was evaluated through functionalization of the 4-position on the pyridine ring. Structural affects on the coordination of f-elements were evaluated using a combination of spectroscopy and solvent extraction techniques. The findings of these studies and corresponding implications to nuclear fuel reprocessing will be discussed.
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Details
- Title
- FUNCTIONALIZATION CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION OF DIPICOLINATE DERIVATIVES WITH f-ELEMENT COMPLEXES
- Creators
- Colt R. Heathman
- Contributors
- Kenneth L Nash (Advisor)Scot Wherland (Committee Member)Nathalie Wall (Committee Member)Mark Jensen (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Chemistry, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 184
- Identifiers
- 99900581848001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation