Separation of U, Pu, and Am recovered from mixed oxide (MOX) fuel by countercurrent chromatography

The separation of U, Pu, and Am recovered from MOX fuel with the adduct of HNO3 with N,N′-dimethyl-N,N′-dioctylhexylethoxymalonamide by countercurrent chromatography (CCC) was studied. Solutions of N,N′-dimethyl-N,N′-dibutyldodecylethoxymalonamide in dodecane were used as stationary phase. The separation of U, Pu, and Am was carried in both isocratic and stepwise elution modes. The better separation of actinides and their higher radionuclidic purity are reached with stepwise elution. The first eluate fraction contained only Am (100%). The second eluate fraction contained U (100%) and Pu (0.7%). The third eluate fraction contained 99.3% of Pu.