Membrane Assisted Liquid Extraction of Actinides and Remediation of Nuclear Waste: A Review

Membrane assisted liquid extraction(MALE) technologies are gaining an important role as an extraction /separation technique for actinides and are being deployed as a  promising tool for remediation of nuclear waste generated in the reprocessing plant and other radioactive wastes containing a trace level of radionuclides. The present contribution outlines the classification of membrane assisted liquid extractiontechniques, its operating principle, associatedtransport mechanism and merits and demerits with respect to industrial applications. Finally, selected applications of MALE techniques (BLM, SLM and ELM) are presented for extraction/separation of actinides and other radiotoxic nuclides from different streams of low level and high level radioactive wastes.