Radiation Resistance of AM-4VP Anion-Exchange Resin in the Course of Recovering Actinides from Nitric Acid Solutions

The radiation resistance of the AM-4VP macroporous anion-exchange resin producted by Smoly Corporate Group was evaluated. The influence of the absorbed radiation dose on the physical properties of the AM-4VP resin and on its performance in thorium sorption was examined. Experiments were performed on the plutonium recovery from process solutions in the dynamic mode on nonirradiated and irradiated samples of the AM-4VP anion-exchange resin. The radiation resistance of the resin was compared to that of VP-1Ap anion-exchange resin used in the process previously. At the absorbed γ-radiation does not exceeding 2 MGy, the physical characteristics of the AM-4VP anion-exchange resin and its performance in the plutonium sorption remain acceptable and practically are not inferior to those of the VP-1Ap resin. At the absorbed γ-radiation dose of 5 MGy, the AM-4VP and VP-1Ap resins undergo substantial radiation-chemical transformations leading to the virtually complete loss of their sorption ability.