Separation of palladium from high level liquid waste – A review

Abstract

The present paper provides a review of the various processes/schemes developed for the separation and recovery of palladium from high level liquid waste (HLLW) generated during reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. This separation is necessary in view of various problems posed by the presence of palladium during vitrification of HLLW. Further, to meet the ever increasing demand for palladium in various applications, HLLW can be considered as one of the possible secondary sources of this valuable metal. In this regard several processes are proposed involving liquid–liquid extraction, solid phase extraction, precipitation electro-deposition, for recovering palladium from HLLW. The focus of the present review is to evaluate various liquid–liquid extraction processes proposed for palladium separation from HLLW.