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Design of experiments for the optimization of U(VI) reduction with hydrogen over Pt/SiO2

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Published/Copyright: December 19, 2022
Radiochimica Acta
From the journal Radiochimica Acta Volume 111 Issue 3

Abstract

Significant amount of uranous nitrate is required for reducing Pu(IV) into inextractable Pu(III) for partitioning of U(VI) and Pu(IV) present in the loaded organic phase in PUREX process. Experiments have been conducted for the preparation of uranous nitrate by reducing uranyl nitrate present in nitric acid solution using hydrogen over Pt/SiO2 catalyst. The effect of process variables such as U(VI) concentration, H2 pressure, nitric acid concentration, catalyst quantity, temperature, mixing speed, and hydrazine concentration (for stabilizing U(IV)) on the yield of U(IV) was studied. The process variables were optimized by a two-step statistical approach namely design of experiments. The initial screening of process variables and determination of important variables that affect the production of U(IV) was determined by definitive screening design (DSD) methodology. The DSD yielded three variables affecting the U(VI) reduction to a significant extent were U(VI) concentration, H2 pressure and mixing speed. These significant variables were further optimized using five-level full factorial central composite design (CCD) methodology for understanding the intricate interactions between the variables and the combined effect of all variables at a time influencing the U(VI) reduction. A second-order polynomial equation derived from CCD was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) for estimating the validity of the model and statistical significance of the terms involved in the polynomial. The results revealed that the model can predict the yield of U(IV) generation with 95% confidence in the proposed experimental range.

Keywords: catalysis; hydrogen; optimization; reduction; uranium
Corresponding author: Konda Athmaram Venkatesan, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603 102, Tamil Nadu, India; and Reprocessing Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, 603102, India, E-mail: ; and Nagarajan Sivaraman, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603 102, Tamil Nadu, India; and Materials Chemistry and Metal Fuel Cycle Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu 603102, India, E-mail:

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2022-0049)

Received: 2022-05-21
Accepted: 2022-12-02
Published Online: 2022-12-19
Published in Print: 2023-03-28

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

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  2. Original Papers
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  12. Verification of radon, radium, polonium concentrations and lung cancer rates in blood of female hookah smokers
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https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2022-0049
Keywords for this article
catalysis; hydrogen; optimization; reduction; uranium

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Papers
  3. Production of 68Ge, 68Ga, 67Ga, 65Zn, and 64Cu important radionuclides for medical applications: theoretical model predictions for α-particles with 66Zn at ≈10–40 MeV
  4. A new targetry system for production of zirconium-89 radioisotope with Cyclone-30 cyclotron
  5. Design of experiments for the optimization of U(VI) reduction with hydrogen over Pt/SiO2
  6. Adsorption behavior of molybdenum onto K-doped γ-Al2O3 and iron clay nanocomposite
  7. Preparation of polymer gel dosimeters for low gamma irradiation dose
  8. Comparative simulations study of radiations shielding properties of 69P2O5–10Gd2O3/10GdF3–10BaO–10ZnO–1Er2O3 glasses
  9. Radiation attenuation attributes for BaO-TiO2-SiO2-GeO2 glass series: a comprehensive study using Phy-X software
  10. Variation in gamma ray shielding properties of glasses with increasing boron oxide content
  11. Effect of tungsten on radiation attenuation features of yWO3–(90 − y)TeO2–10Na2O glasses
  12. Verification of radon, radium, polonium concentrations and lung cancer rates in blood of female hookah smokers
  13. Corrigendum
  14. Corrigendum to: Application of a novel gas phase synthesis approach to carbonyl complexes of accelerator-produced 5d transition metals (Radiochim. Acta 2022; 110 (2): 75–86)
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