The overall goal of this research conducted under the auspices of the USDOE Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) is to provide a scientific foundation upon which the feasibility of new liquid-liquid extraction chemistry applicable to the bulk reduction of the volume of tank waste can be evaluated. Disposal of high-level nuclear waste is horrendously expensive, in large part because the actual radioactive matter in the tanks has been diluted over 10,000-fold by ordinary inorganic chemicals. Quite simply, if the radioactive matter and bulk inorganic chemicals could be separated into separate streams, large cost savings would accrue, because the latter stream is much cheaper to dispose of. In principle, one could remove the radionuclides from the waste, leaving behind the bulk of the waste; or one could remove certain bulk chemicals from the waste, leaving behind the radionuclides. The preponderance of effort over the past two decades has focused on the former approach, which produces a high-level stream for vitrification and a low-activity stream for either vitrification (Hanford) or grout (Savannah River). At Hanford, a particular concern arises in that vitrification of a large volume of low-activity waste will be unacceptably expensive. To make matters worse, a projected future deficit of tank space may necessitate construction of expensive new tanks. These problems have raised questions as to whether a solution could be devised based on separation of sodium from the waste, resulting in the reduction of the total volume of waste that must be vitrified.
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