Advanced PUREX Flowsheets for Future Np and Pu Fuel Cycle Demands

The reprocessing of nuclear fuel using PUREX-based solvent extraction has been undertaken in the UK on an industrial scale for over forty years. Current research includes the development of modified PUREX-style flowsheets for processing ever-increasing plutonium content fuels including MOX, fast reactor and even experimental and legacy fuels. Herein, results are presented on Np recovery in single cycle PUREX flowsheets using hydroxamic acids. Flowsheets have been demonstrated on a centrifugal contactor rig. Aspects of Np chemistry relevant to the use of hydroxamic acids in process flowsheets for U/Pu(&Np) separation are reported.