ABSTRACT
Nuclear waste comes in a variety of forms. Perhaps the most troublesome is liquid waste generated during the processing of nuclear material for the extraction and recovery of plutonium and uranium. carbamoylmethylphosphine oxide (CMPO) was designed, synthesized, and characterized at Argonne National Laboratory by members of the Chemical Separations Group in the Chemistry Division. It contains a unique chemical structure that enables it to efficiently extract transuranics in the trivalent, tetravalent, and hexavalent oxidation states from both concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids. The TRUEX process solvent contains not only CMPO, but also a large excess of tributylphosphate (TBP). TBP in paraffinic hydrocarbons is the standard solvent in the PUREX process for isolating and separating uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. Several synthetic reactions have been utilized for the preparation of CMPO and related compounds. The methods were chosen among the Arbuzov reaction, Michaelis–Becker reaction, Grignard reaction, and various combinations.
