Separation Science and Technology, Vol.32, No.10, 1711-1723, 1997
Separation of Thorium from Uranium Product at the Tail End of Thorium Fuel-Reprocessing Using Macroporous Cation-Exchange Resin
The utility of macroporous cation-exchange resins for the separation of uranium from thorium (relevant to the final purification of the product uranium after reprocessing of the thorium breeder fuel) was examined. Two such cation-exchange resins were studied and compared with a previously used gel-type resin. Batch experiments and column experiments were performed to generate equilibrium data and to optimize the procedure for the separation of U from Th under process conditions. Recovery and purity of the final product were the same while loading and washing rates were much higher (120 mL/h) than those used for gel-type resins (40 mL/h). Much higher throughput was achieved without losing product quality when macroporous resins were used instead of the gel-type resin.