Abstract
TRI-n-BUTYL phosphate in an inert paraffinic diluent is of interest for the solvent processing of pile-irradiated nuclear fuels1,2. If the specific activity of the process solution should be very high, radiation damage to the solvent will have a significant effect on plant efficiency, since it leads to the simultaneous production of di-n-butyl phosphate and mono-n-butyl phosphate. Under certain conditions, these acidic esters exhibit a high complexing power towards plutonium, uranium and some fission-products3. The consequences are poor decontamination of the fuel material and reduced efficiency in stages designed to wash back these materials into an aqueous phase.
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WILLIAMS, T., WILKINSON, R. & RIGG, T. Radiolysis of Tri-n-butyl Phosphate. Nature 179, 540 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/179540a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/179540a0
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