The transport behaviour of radio-strontiu
m fro
m acidic feed solutions was investigated using 4,4鈥?5鈥?di-
m>tertm>-butyl-dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (DTBCH18C6) as the carrier extractant e
mploying the hollow fiber supported liquid
me
mbrane (HFSLM) technique. The results indicated 92%transport of the
metal ion fro
m 3 M HNO
3 feed solution in 3 h of continuous operation in recycling
mode using an i
mproved solvent syste
m consisting of 0.1 M DTBCH18C6 in 80%NPOE + 20%
m>nm>-dodecane which was re
markably superior to the previously reported solvents for Sr(II) separation fro
m acidic feeds. Crown ether assisted acid co-transport was found to be quite significant in such cases which resulted in Sr(II) back transport. The neutralization of acidity by addition of NaOH indicated alleviation of the back transport of Sr(II) and a near saturation transport value was noticed.
Studies on the Sr(II) transport from pressurized heavy water reactor-simulated high level waste (PHWR-SHLW) solution indicated comparable transport profiles with that obtained using 3 M HNO3 as the feed. Hydrogen ion effect on Sr(II) transport was investigated using feed solutions containing a fixed nitrate concentration with varying H+ ion concentration. A mathematical model was used for the simulation of transport behaviour of metal through the membrane.