Key words: supercritical fluid extraction, liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide, spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, complexation, tributyl phosphate, aqueous Fe(III) nitrate solutions
Solubility of UO2(NO3)2-tributyl phosphate (TBP) complex in liquid and supercritical
(SC) carbon dioxide as a function of temperature and pressure is measured. This
complex is formed during the dissolution of uranium oxide in two-phase system consisting
of aqueous iron nitrate solution and liquid or supercritical CO2 saturated with
TBP. Kinetics of ceramic UO2 dissolution in such two-phase solvent is studied. The
feasibility of the recovery of uranium from spent oxide nuclear fuels via its dissolution
in sub-acid iron nitrate aqueous solutions accompanied by simultaneous extraction of
the above mentioned complex into «TBP — SC-CO2» phase is demonstrated.
doi:10.1134/S1990793114070124