Extraction Behavior of Americium and Curium on Selected Extraction Chromatography Resins from Pure Acidic Matrices

Due to the similar chemical properties between the neighboring trivalent actinide elements americium and curium, their extraction behavior is often perceived as indistinguishable. In this work, the characterization of seven extraction chromatography resins (TEVA, TRU, DGA(N), Actinide, Ln, Ln2, and Ln3) for these trivalent actinides from acidic matrices (HNO3, HCl, and HBr) has provided some evidence to the contrary. In most cases, Am(III) and Cm(III) exhibit identical extraction properties. However, separation is possible with TRU and DGA(N) resins as demonstrated in this study. The extraction shows a strong dependency on the specific anion in solution that follows the order NO3−>Br−>Cl−.