Hydroxylamine Nitrate Decomposition under Non-radiological Conditions

Technical Report · Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1195814· OSTI ID:1195814

McFarlane, Joanna ^[1]; Delmau, Laetitia Helene ^[1]; DePaoli, David W. ^[1]; Mattus, Catherine H. ^[1]; Phelps, Clarice E. ^[1]; Roach, Benjamin D. ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) is used to reduce Pu(IV) to Pu(III) in the separation of plutonium from uranium. HAN becomes unstable under certain conditions and has been known to explode, causing injury to humans including death. Hence, it is necessary to deactivate HAN once the reduction of plutonium is finished. This report reviews what is known about the chemistry of HAN and various methods to achieve a safe decomposition. However, there are areas where more information is needed to make a decision about the handling of HAN in reprocessing of nuclear fuel. Experiments have demonstrated a number of non-radiolytic ways to safely decompose HAN, including heating in HNO3, photolytic oxidation in the presence of H2O2, and the addition of a metal such as Fe(III) that will oxidize the HAN.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1195814
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-2015/156; 400409900; 401105000
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

hydroxylamine nitrate
decomposition chemistry