Application of phosphorus- and nitrogen-containing organic compounds for the isolation of actinides and technetium from acid or basic aqueous solutions

The derivatives of ethers of phosphoric acid, namely O-(2-alkyl) (diethylcarbamoylmethyl) phenylphosphinates (O2ADECMPP), were synthesized and tested for liquid-liquid extraction of transuranium elements, lanthanides and technetium in meta-nitrobenzotrifluoride or 1,2-dichlorethane from acidic solutions. The O-(ethylhexyl) (diethylcarbamoylmethyl) phenylphosphinate (O2EHDECMPP) was used to prepare chelating granulated sorbents. The family of chelating fibrous `filled' sorbents POLYORGS-type shows, according to preliminary experiments, that Pu and Tc at concentrations around 10(-5) M can be recovered almost completely. POLYORGS show fast kinetics for sorption processes. (C) 2004 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.