Plutonium scrap processing at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:5655276

Nixon, A E; McKerley, B J; Christensen, E L

The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory currently has the newest plutonium handling facility in the nation. Los Alamos has been active in the processing of plutonium almost since the discovery of this man-made element in 1941. One of the functions of the new facility is the processing of plutonium scrap generated at LASL and other sites. The feed for the scrap processing program is extremely varied, and a wide variety of contaminants are often encountered. Depending upon the scrap matrix and contaminants present, the majority of material receives a nitric acid/hydrofluoric acid or nitric acid/calcium fluoride leach. The plutonium nitrate solutions are then loaded onto an anion exchange column charged with DOWEX 1 x 4, 50 to 100 mesh, nitrate form resin. The column is eluted with 0.48 M hydroxyl amine nitrate. The Pu(NO/sub 3/)/sub 3/ is then precipitated as plutonium III oxalate which is calcined at 450 to 500/sup 0/C to yield a purified PuO/sub 2/ product.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5655276
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-80-835; CONF-800303-12; TRN: 80-007373
• Resource Relation: Conference: 179. national meeting of the American Chemical Society, Houston, TX, USA, 23 Mar 1980
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
PLUTONIUM DIOXIDE
CHEMICAL PREPARATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
SCRAP
ANIONS
CALCINATION
CALCIUM FLUORIDES
HIGH TEMPERATURE
HYDROFLUORIC ACID
ION EXCHANGE
NITRIC ACID
PLUTONIUM NITRATES
PRECIPITATION
PURIFICATION
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM HALIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
IONS
MANAGEMENT
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIUM COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIUM OXIDES
PROCESSING
PYROLYSIS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLID WASTES
SYNTHESIS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TRANSURANIUM COMPOUNDS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
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