Modeling of Extract Uranium, Plutonium and Neptunium Purification Process from Fission Products in Liquid Chromatography Columns

Abstract

Chromatography is one of the highly effective methods for mixture separation. It has been and is widely used in different industrial fields, from food to the nuclear sector. Relevant performance of this method is in any case associated to high costs and, often, the chromatographic separation of complex mixtures is one of the most expensive steps in the entire production process. The development of an adequate mathematical model of the chromatographic column will allow designing a control system to optimize the plant operation modes, and will help to avoid errors during design, installation and commissioning. Using a computer simulation of this technology will allow passing from the time-consuming, expensive and dangerous natural experiments to numerical experiments. The application of the equilibrium-dispersive chromatography model for the design of the extract uranium, plutonium and neptunium purification process from fission products in coupled liquid chromatography columns were investigated in this paper. The model was included in the complex’s composition of closed nuclear fuel cycle.