Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Separation Science and Technology
Publication Date
Volume
TBD
Issue
TBD
Abstract
The separation of Eu and Sm from each other is made difficult by their shared preference to be a trivalent cation as well as their similar ionic radii. A new approach to separating Eu and Sm using ion exchange reactions between molten salts and a solid electrolyte, beta″-alumina, has been demonstrated. The highest separation factor achieved was greater than 30. However, the Eu extraction efficiency was low. The highest Eu extraction efficiency achieved was 51.8% ± 2.6 with a separation factor of 4.70 ± 0.46.
