Development of field-based separations for the rapid identification of uranium and plutonium
The development of rapid, radioanalytical techniques to separate uranium and plutonium from complex, field samples are needed for the timely and accurate determination of nuclear material origin, and processing activities. Widespread use of nuclear power and technology in the world has increased demands on analytical laboratories from the monitoring of numerous low-level, environmental samples with variable compositions. Environmental sampling has proven to be one of the strongest technical measures for detecting nuclear material and activities. With the increase in sampling demands, new technologies must offer improvements such as automation, high throughput, reproducible chemical separations, short analysis times, and reduced costs to be effective. We have been developing a portable, separations system for uranium (U) and plutonium (Pu) separations based upon selective extraction of target elements using an extraction chromatographic resin which would allow for simple and fast identifcation when coupled with the appropriate sample digestor and detection systems. The microfluidic design minimizes elution volumes and concentrates the elements of interest in a purified stream. Flowsheet development and testing was demonstrated on a single, micro-column system with an acidified, iron, uranium, and plutonium nitrate stream. The recovery of Pu was optimized by examining various reducing agents at different concentrations for rapid, quantitative recovery from the flow-through design. Quantitative recovery and high selectivity of U and Pu was achieved in the appropriate stripping stages and provided purified and concentrated U and Pu streams. The microfluidic system suggests automation in a small, footprint unit while exploiting the in-line processing of extraction chromatographic resins as the primary means of concentrating the radionuclides from the raw acidic feed and separating the elements into purified streams.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) - Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1396052
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 305, Issue 1; ISSN 0236-5731
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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