The use of the N,N-diethyldodecanamide for actinide extraction in conjunction with liquid scintillation counting

The extraction properties of N,N-diethyldodecanamide in hydrochloric and ni tric acid solutions for uranium, plutonium, thorium and americium have been investigated. As a primary step,the liquid scintillation performances of o rganic solutions of the amide have been studied revealing a moderate quench ing and a lower energy resolution than HDEHP. Nitric acid, uranyl nitrate a nd thorium nitrate extraction systems have been modeled, tatting into accou nt the stoichiometric mean activity coefficients in aqueous solutions. A ge neral protocol to analyse actinides (U, Th, Pu and Am) in soils in conjunct ion with liquid scintillation counting is proposed using this amide togethe r with other extractants (TOPO, HDEHP).