PNNL

Abstract

In solvent extraction processes for recovering metal ions from used nuclear fuel, as well as other industrial applications, a better understanding of the metal complex phase transfer phenomenon would greatly aid ligand design and process optimization. We have approached this challenge by utilizing classical molecular dynamics simulations technique to gain visual appreciation of the vapor/liquid and liquid/liquid interface between tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) and n-dodecane with air and water. In this study, we successfully reparameterized polarizable force fields for TBP and n-dodecane that accurately reproduced several of their thermophysical properties such as: density, heat of vaporization, and dipole moment. Our models were able to predict the surface and interfacial tension of different systems when compared to experimental results also performed by us. Through this study, we gained numerous atomistic understanding of the behaviors of TBP and n-dodecane at the interface against air and water, useful in further computational studies of such systems. Finally, our studies indicate that the initial configuration of a simulation may have a large effect on the final result. The authors wish to thank US Department of Energy, Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), Project 14-6702, for financial support. Q.N.V. acknowledges support from a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (DGE-1321846). The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences funded the work performed by L.X.D.