Dissertation
LIGAND AND MATERIAL DESIGN FOR THE RECOVERY OF TRANSITION METALS (RHODIUM, RHENIUM AND TECHNETIUM) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2016
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/117417
Abstract
As the focus of nuclear waste research shifts from weapons production to environmental remediation and waste storage, new techniques are being developed and investigated for the recovery of various elements of interest from remaining legacy defense waste and future spent nuclear fuel. There is currently a resurgence of research designed to examine the feasibility of creating a more sustainable nuclear fuel cycle in addition to removing problematic elements for safer long-term storage. The work presented in this dissertation describes efforts at refining strategies that are emerging and widely applicable for the recovery of transition metals from aqueous solutions.
The first study involves the synthesis, characterization and complexation kinetics of a novel tridentate sulfur and nitrogen based ligand for the extraction of rhodium from chloride media. This work established the validity of using a chelating ligand for the complexation of rhodium. The second study explored the differences between chloride and nitrate media for the extraction of rhodium from aqueous solutions with N,N-diethyl-N’-benzoylthiourea. This allowed for the comparison of previous research with more precision through the use of inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. These results confirmed differences between nitrate and chloride media for rhodium extraction and provided a basis for rhodium extraction from nitrate media to be more readily investigated.
The third study presents the development of a novel resin based functionalized material (TREX) for the selective removal of TcO4- from aqueous solutions over a wide pH range. The results of this study established the proof of concept that TREX could be used to separate TcO4- from aqueous solutions. This was investigated further in a fourth study, which utilized TREX to remove TcO4- from more complex solutions, including the Hanford 241-AN-106 Waste Tank Simulant. The results confirmed the effectiveness of TREX for the removal of TcO4- from complex aqueous solutions. The results from the work conducted in this dissertation provide information that can be used to generate future recycling strategies for reprocessed nuclear fuel, spent nuclear fuel, and basic metal separations of fission products.
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Details
- Title
- LIGAND AND MATERIAL DESIGN FOR THE RECOVERY OF TRANSITION METALS (RHODIUM, RHENIUM AND TECHNETIUM) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
- Creators
- Shalina Christine Bottorff
- Contributors
- Paul D Benny (Advisor)Kenneth L Nash (Committee Member)Nathalie A Wall (Committee Member)Scot Wherland (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Chemistry
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 145
- Identifiers
- 99900581835301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation