Dissolution of uranium oxides in supercritical carbon dioxide containing tri-n-butyl phosphate and thenoyltrifluoroacetone

Abstract

Milligram amounts of uranium dioxide can be quantitatively dissolved in supercritical carbon dioxide containing a complex of tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) with nitric acid and separated from thorium(IV). The quantitative dissolution of milligram amounts of solid uranium trioxide in supercritical carbon dioxide containing thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) and TBP was performed using ultrasonication. The separation of uranium(VI) and cerium(IV) in the test system was demonstrated.