Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:36:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:59:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 03765.pdf: 4268943 bytes, checksum: 1eabaa58f9bf24d34593d59bf89ff6ca (MD5) / Tese (Doutoramento) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:33:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:06:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / O carvão ativado é um tipo comum de rejeito radioativo que contém elevada concentração de produtos de ativação e fissão. O gerenciamento deste rejeito inclui a sua caracterização, visando à determinação e quantificação dos radionuclídeos específicos, incluindo aqueles conhecidos como Radionuclídeos de Difícil Medição (RDM). A análise dos RDMs geralmente envolve análises radioquímicas complexas para purificação e separação dos radionuclídeos, as quais são caras e demandam muito tempo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi definir uma metodologia de análise sequencial de isótopos de urânio, netúnio, plutônio, amerício e cúrio, presentes em um tipo de rejeito radioativo, avaliando-se rendimento químico, tempo de análise, quantidade de rejeito secundário gerado e custo. Foram comparadas e validadas três metodologias que empregam a troca iônica (TI + EC), extração cromatográfica (EC) e extração com polímeros (ECP). O rejeito estudado foi o carvão ativado, proveniente do sistema de purificação de água do circuito primário de refrigeração do reator IEA-R1. As amostras de carvão foram dissolvidas por digestão ácida, seguida de purificação e separação dos isótopos com resinas de troca iônica, extração cromatográfica e extração com polímeros. Os isótopos foram analisados em um espectrômetro alfa, equipado com detectores de barreira de superfície. O rendimento químico de todos os elementos foi satisfatório para os métodos TI + EC e EC. Para o método ECP, apenas o rendimento químico do U foi comparável aos outros métodos. As análises estatísticas dos resultados bem como a análise de custo e volume de rejeito secundário gerado demonstraram que o método EC é o mais adequado para a identificação e quantificação dos isótopos estudados em carvão ativado. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Submitted by Claudinei Pracidelli (cpracide@ipen.br) on 2015-03-17T10:41:16Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-17T10:41:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Este trabalho apresenta um novo método para o cálculo dos coecientes de sensibilidade, através da união do metodo diferencial e da teoria da perturbação generalizada, que são os dois métodos tradicionalmente utilizados em física de reatores para a obtenção de tais grandezas. Esses dois métodos apresentam algumas deciências tornando os cálculos dos coeficientes de sensibilidade lentos ou computacionalmente exaustivos, mas unindo-os e possível eliminar as deciências apresentadas por ambos e obter uma nova equação para o coe- ciente de sensibilidade. O método proposto neste trabalho foi aplicado em um reator do tipo PWR , onde foi feita análise de sensibilidade da produção e da razão de conversão do 239Pu, para um ciclo de 120 dias de queima. O código utilizado para a análise de queima e análise de sensibilidade, o CINEW, foi desenvolvido durante este trabalho e os resultados obtidos foram comparados com os códigos amplamente utilizados em física de reatores, como o CINDER e o SERPENT. As conclusões obtidas foram que o novo método matemático para a obtenção dos coeficientes de sensibilidade e o CINEW, além de fornecer agilidade numérica também presentam eciência e segurança. Pois o novo método matemático para a obtenção dos coeficientes quando comparados com os métodos tradicionais utilizados para a análise de sensibilidade, mostram resultados satisfatórios, mesmo quando o método utiliza aproximações matemáticas que diferem do método proposto, e com a vantagem de não apresentar as deciências apresentadas pelos métodos diferencial e da teoria da perturbação generalizada. As análises de queima obtidas pelo CINEW foram comparadas com o CINDER, que mostraram uma diferença aceitável, apesar do CINDER apresentar alguns problemas computacionais que advém da época em que foi feito. A originalidade deste trabalho e a aplicação do método proposto em problemas que envolvem dependência temporal e a elaboração do primerio código nacional que faz análise de queima e análise de sensibilidade. / Tese (Doutorado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Lanthanide(III) and actinide complexes with the N-donor extractants which are proposed for se in next generation separation processes, CyMe4-BTPhen and CyMe4-BTBP, have been synthesised and characterised in idealised synthetic and real extraction conditions. Next generation spent nuclear fuel reprocessing is necessary in order to reduce the longevity of activity (from 100,000’s to 100-1,000’s years) through re-use as fuel in GenIV reactor programs. The N donor extractants have been previously shown to preferentially extract the trivalent An ions over the Ln ions in biphasic acidic extraction processes, a necessary task due to the large neutron capture crosssections of the lanthanides, and the reasons behind this selectivity have been investigated here. Proposed processes that use these extractants are called SANEX and GANEX. The SANEX process is undertaken after a PUREX-style process where only the trivalent minor actinides and the lanthanides are present during the separation. Whereas, in the GANEX process the organic phase contains the N-donor molecule and another extractant, such as TBP, with the aqueous phase containing the entire An series in various oxidation states. Speciation of the Ln3+ ions with the N-donor molecules has been shown to be dominated by 1:2 (M:L) complexes in the bulk organic phase post extraction and coordination is completed by a small ligand, either H2O or NO3-. Spectrophotometric titration yielded logβ values for the 1:2 (M:L) complexes of Pr3+, Eu3+ and Tb3+ nitrate salts. In all cases it was shown that the CyMe4-BTPhen molecule has a greater affinity than the CyMe4-BTBP molecule for the Ln3+ ions, as expected given the ‘locked’ design of CyMe4-BTPhen. The uranyl ion was shown to only form 1:1 (M:L) complexes in solution with the N-donor molecules but structural characterisation showed it to also form 2:1 (M:L) complexes with the metal ions bridged by a peroxide anion. The formation of this species was found to require a protic solvent, light and molecular dioxygen. Again, binding was shown, by spectrophotometric titration, to be stronger with CyMe4-BTPhen than CyMe4-BTBP.The speciation of the tetravalent An ions, Pu4+ and Th4+ was studied using 1H NMR and X-ray absorption spectroscopy in GANEX style conditions. When the organic phase contains TBP and the N donor extractants, complexation is completed by TBP in the post extraction organic phase and the extraction of Th4+ is exclusively completed by TBP but by both extractants for Pu4+. In both cases, the major bulk species was identified as Pu/Th(NO3)4.3TBP, although complexes of the N donor extractants and the An4+ have been observed in idealised conditions, in both 1:1 and 1:2 (M:L) stoichiometries, depending on the solution composition. U4+ was shown to form a variety of complexes of a myriad of M:L stoichiometries.

Le développement méthodologique d’une approche simplifiée visant à extraire et à quantifier l’uranium et le plutonium à partir d’échantillons de poisson par l’ICP-MS est l’objectif principal de ces travaux de maîtrise. Pour ce faire, la méthode d’extraction au point trouble (CPE) est utilisée. Cette méthode permet de séparer les actinides de la matrice et de les préconcentrer dans un faible volume de surfactant. L’utilisation d’un agent d’extraction sélectif permet de former des complexes avec l’uranium et le plutonium puis de les incorporer à l’intérieur des micelles. L’agent d’extraction P, P-di (2-éthylhexyle) de l’acide méthanediphosphonique (H2DEH[MDP]) est utilisé car celui-ci a un potentiel d’extraction élevé pour les actinides. Puisque l’uranium et le plutonium ont de long temps de demi-vie, les analyses peuvent être effectuées par l’ICP-MS pour connaître les ratios isotopiques de ces derniers. Toutefois, avant de procéder à l’extraction au point trouble et de réaliser les analyses, les échantillons de poisson sont traités pour éliminer l’eau et la matière organique qui peuvent interférer avec la formation des micelles. Les diverses étapes nécessaires pour la mise en solution, leurs compatibilités avec l’approche CPE et la mesure par ICP-MS seront présentées pour l’analyse de larges quantités (˃ 500 g) de poissons frais. / The methodological development of a simplified approach to extract and quantify uranium and plutonium from fish samples by ICP-MS is the main goal of this master’s work. To do this, the cloud point extraction method (CPE) is used. This method allows the actinides to be separated from the matrix and preconcentrated in a small volume of surfactant. The use of a selective ligand makes it possible to form a complex with uranium and plutonium and then to transfer it inside the micelles. The ligand P, P-di (2-ethylhexyl) of methanediphosphonic acid (H2DEH[MDP]) is used because it has a high extraction potential for actinides. Since uranium and plutonium have a long-half-life, analyzes can be performed by ICP-MS, to know the isotopic ratios of the latter. However, prior to cloud point extraction and analysis, fish samples are processed to remove water and organic matter that can interfere with micelle formation. The various stages required for dissolution, their compatibility with the CPE approach and ICP-MS measurement will be presented for the analysis of large quantities (˃ 500 g) of fresh fishes

This thesis covers the individual work of Michael Chin as part of the sponsored research project funded by the U.S. State Department in support of a computational design of a "Mobile Pit Verification System" (MPVS), a mobile “drive by” passive radiation detection system to be applied in special nuclear materials (SNM) storage facilities for validation and compliance purposes. The MPVS system is intended to enable a comprehensive, rapid verification and validation of stored nuclear weapon core physics packages containing SNM, or so-called “weapon pits,” in weapon materials and stockpile storage facilities. The MPVS platform is designed to move at a constant speed and accumulate a signal for each stored weapon pit container. The gamma detector was selected to be a 4 × 4 × 8 cubic inch CsI detector while the neutron detector array designed for the “Transport Simulation and Validation of a Synthetic Aperture SNM Detection System (“T-SADS”) project was used in conjunction with this work; T-SADS was a 3 year project funded by DOE-NNSA which was completed on May 2013. The computational design effort for this project was completed in April 2013, and leveraged novel computational radiation transport methods, algorithms, and SNM identification methods, including a synthetic aperture collection approach, and a new gamma ratio methodology for distinguishing between naturally occurring radiation materials and weapon class SNM materials. Both forward and adjoint transport methods were utilized to characterize the adjoint reaction rate as a function of inter-source spacing, collimation thickness, linear and angular field of view, source age, source type, source geometry, and mobile platform speed. The integrated count was then compared with background radiation and the associated probabilities of detection and false alarm were then computed. Publications resulting from this research were published in PHYSOR 2012, presented at the 53rd annual Proceedings of the INMM, and at the Mathematics & Computation 2013 Conference.

Radionuclides, 129I and 239,240Pu, are major products or by-products of nuclear fission and among the top risk drivers for waste disposal at the Savannah River Sites (SRS) and Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Sites (RFETS), respectively, due to their perceived mobility in the environment, excessive inventory, toxicity, and long half-life. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of natural organic matter in retarding or facilitating the migration of 129I and 239,240Pu in the Department of Energy (DOE) sites. Measurements of 127I and 129I in humic acids (HAs) and fulvic acids (FAs) obtained by five successive alkaline, two glycerol and one citric acid-alkaline extractions, demonstrated that these extractable humic substances (HS) together account for 54-56 percent and 46 percent of the total 127I and 129I in the soil, respectively. The variations among 127I and 129I concentrations, isotopic ratios (129I/127I), chemical properties of all these humic substances indicated iodine was bound to a small-size aromatic subunit (~10 kDa), while the large-size subunit (~90 kDa), which likely linked the small-size unit through some weak chemical forces, determined the relative mobility of iodine bound to organic matter. Soil resuspension experiments simulating surface runoff or stormflow and erosion events were conducted with soils collected from SRS. Results showed that 72-77 percent of the newly-introduced I- or IO3- were irreversibly sequestered into the organic-rich soil, while the rest was transformed into colloidal and dissolved organo-iodine by the soil. The resulting iodine remobilization contradicts the conventional view that considers only I- or IO3- as the mobile forms. Quantitative structure analysis by 13C DPMAS NMR and solution state 1H NMR on these humic substances indicate that iodine is closely related to the aromatic regions containing esterified products of phenolic and fomic acid or other aliphatic carboxylic acids, amide functionalities, quinone-like structure activated by electron-donating groups (e.g., NH2) or hemicelluloses-lignin-like complex with phenyl-glycosidic linkage. The micro-molecular environment, such as the hydrophobic aliphatic periphery hindering the active aromatic cores and the hydrophilic polysaccharides favoring its accessibility towards hydrophilic iodine species, play another key role in the interactions between iodine and SOM. NMR spectra of the colloidal organic Pu carrier which can potentially be released from the soil during the surface runoff or stormflow showed Pu was transported, at sub-pM concentrations, by a cutin-derived soil degradation products containing siderophore-like moieties and virtually all mobile Pu.

Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) frequently occur in the deep granitic rock aquifers at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (Äspö HRL), Sweden. The new SRB strain Desulfovibrio äspöensis could be iso-lated. The objective of this project was to explore the basic interaction mechanisms of uranium, curium, neptunium and plutonium with cells of D. äspöensis DSM 10631T. The cells of D. äspöensis were successfully cultivated under anaerobic conditions as well in an optimized bicarbonate-buffered mineral medium as on solid medium at 22 °C. To study the interaction of D. äspöensis with the actinides, the cells were grown to the mid-exponential phase (four days). The collected biomass was usually 1.0±0.2 gdry weight/L. The purity of the used bacterial cultures was verified using microscopic techniques and by applying the Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Enzyme Analysis (ARDREA). The interaction experiments with the actinides showed that the cells are able to remove all four actinides from the surrounding solution. The amount of removed actinide and the interaction mechanism varied among the different actinides. The main U(VI) removal occurred after the first 24 h. The contact time, pH and [U(VI)]initial influence the U removal efficiency. The presence of uranium caused a damaging of the cell membranes. TEM revealed an accumulation of U inside the bacterial cell. D. äspöensis are able to form U(IV). A complex interaction mechanism takes place consisting of biosorption, bioreduction and bioaccumulation. Neptunium interacts in a similar way. The experimental findings are indicating a stronger interaction with uranium compared to neptunium. The results obtained with 242Pu indicate the ability of the cells of D. äspöensis to accumulate and to reduce Pu(VI) from a solution containing Pu(VI) and Pu(IV)-polymers. In the case of curium at a much lower metal concentration of 3x10-7 M, a pure biosorption of Cm(III) on the cell envelope forming an inner-sphere surface complex most likely with organic phosphate groups was detected. To summarize, the strength of the interaction of D. äspöensis with the selected actinides at pH 5 and actinide concentrations ≥10 mg/L ([Cm] 0.07 mg/L) follows the pattern: Cm > U > Pu >> Np.

Objective of this project was the study of basic interaction and migration processes of actinides in the environment in presence of humic acids (HA). To obtain more basic knowledge on these interaction processes synthetic HA with specific functional properties as well as 14C-labeled HA were synthesized and applied in comparison to the natural HA Aldrich. One focus of the work was on the synthesis of HA with distinct redox functionalities. The obtained synthetic products that are characterized by significantly higher Fe(III) redox capacities than Aldrich HA were applied to study the redox properties of HA and the redox stability of U(VI) humate complexes. It was confirmed that phenolic OH groups play an important role for the redox properties of HA. However, the results indicate that there are also other processes than the single oxidation of phenolic OH groups and/or other functional groups contributing to the redox behavior of HA. A first direct-spectroscopic proof for the reduction of U(VI) by synthetic HA with distinct redox functionality was obtained. The complexation behavior of synthetic and natural HA with actinides (Th, Np, Pu) was studied. Structural parameters of Pu(III), Th(IV), Np(IV) and Np(V) humates were determined by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The results show that carboxylate groups dominate the interaction between HA and actinide ions. These are predominant monodentately bound. The influence of phenolic OH groups on the Np(V) complexation by HA was studied with modified HA (blocked phenolic OH groups). The blocking of phenolic OH groups induces a decrease of the number of maximal available complexing sites of HA, whereas complex stability constant and Np(V) near-neighbor surrounding are not affected. The effects of HA on the sorption and migration behavior of actinides was studied in batch and column experiments. Th(IV) sorption onto quartz and Np(V) sorption onto granite and its mineral constituents are affected by the pH value and the presence of HA. HA exhibits a significant influence on the transport of U(IV) and U(VI) in a laboratory quartz sand system. In order to provide the basis for a more reliable modeling of the actinide transport, the metal ion complexation with HA has to be integrated into existing geochemical speciation codes. Within this project the metal ion charge neutralization model was embedded into the geochemical modeling code EQ3/6. In addition to that, a digital data base was developed which covers HA complexation data basing on the charge neutralization model.

Since the end of World War II the United States has grown and maintained a stockpile of nuclear weapons in the interest of preserving world peace, and with the specific intent to provide unparalleled national security to its citizens. It was a commonly held view during this time that a large diverse stockpile was a fundamental key to national security. However, in today’s ever-changing environment, Los Alamos National Laboratory finds itself with an infrastructure unable to quickly adapt to new national security needs and threats. Burdened by the management of a Cold-War-era stockpile, nuclear operations at Los Alamos will benefit from a reduced stockpile initiative. Contrary to previously held beliefs, Los Alamos can be the prime beneficiary to such an approach, and use such a monumental shift in strategy to modernize infrastructure, revitalize critical staff, and effectively manage critical materials and facilities while simultaneously reducing waste and environmental impacts to better support national security needs. / text