Pilot-Scale TRUEX Flowsheet Testing for Separation of Actinides and Lanthanides from used Nuclear Fuel

Testing of a TRUEX flowsheet has been performed using a thirty-stage, 5-cm centrifugal contactor pilot plant. This testing was performed using a non-radioactive feed surrogate and data were collected and analyzed to evaluate removal efficiencies of the lanthanides, mass transfer efficiency of the lanthanides in the extraction and strip sections of the flowsheet, and the temperature profile of the process solutions throughout the centrifugal contactor pilot plant. Results indicate 99.9% separation for all lanthanides and mass transfer efficiencies typically ranging from 85% to 100%. Energy input into the process under flowsheet conditions resulted in only a moderate temperature rise and did not appear to have a large effect on separations performance. The general process performance is also described.