Comparative study on the radiolytic stability of TBP, DHOA, Cyanex 923 and Cyanex 272 in ionic liquid and molecular diluent for the extraction of thorium

The radiolytic stability of TBP, DHOA, Cyanex 923 and Cyanex 272 in ionic liquid vis a vis molecular diluents have been evaluated for the extraction of thorium. The decrease in D Th value was found to follow the trend of irradiated (Xylene + ligand) > irradiated (ionic liquid + ligand). Ionic liquid was found to act as a sink to protect the ligand functionality from radiation damage. On gamma exposure, the other metal ions were also found to be co-extracted into organic phase from simulated high level waste solution of fast breeder reactor origin consequently reducing the selectivity. The reduction in selectivity on gamma exposure was found to be more in xylene than C 8 mimNTf 2 based systems.