Separation of Uranium and Protactinium from Thorium by Amine Extraction

Uranium, protactinium and thorium are satisfactorily separated from each other by secondary amine extraction. Amberlite LA–1 in kerosene diluent is used as the extractant. Separation from hydrochloric acid solution is superior to that from systems using other acids. The acid dependency of the extraction coefficient by anion exchange resin, but the former has selectivity for uranium. Under the total dose of 5×107r., the radiation damage of Amberlite LA–1 is negligibly small. From these results, it is evident that there is a possibility of applying the amine extraction to the recovery of uranium-233 from reactor blanket fuel.