Separation of cesium and strontium by electrodialysis

Electrodialysis methods employing Permutit anion exchange membranes (3148) and cation exchange membranes (3142) have been investigated for the separation of strontium from cesium. The methods were based on the formation of strontium chelate complexes with EDTA and DTPA. Separations of radio-strontium and radio-cesium in equilibrium with their daughter decay products were made with two-cell and three-cell electrodialysers. The best results were obtained with EDTA at an initial pH of 11·0 employing anion exchange membranes. The data suggest that this method is feasible for the separation and purification of radioactive cesium and strontium.