Dissolution of Light Curium Oxide with a Catalyzed Electrolytic Process
The ability to produce transcurium elements and isotopes, such as 249Bk and 252Cf, requires the appropriate feed material and a high thermal neutron flux. Currently, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) provides one of the world’s highest steady state thermal neutron fluxes. The feed material consists of recycled curium from the decades of production of 249Bk, 252Cf, 253Es, and 255/257Fm at the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC). Over time, the feed material has been depleted and needs to be replenished. The current feed material is called “heavy recycled curium” and consists of over 50 wt% of 246/248Cm isotopes. In order to replenish this stock material, additional curium is needed. The only curium material that is currently available consists predominantly (greater than 80 wt%) of 244Cm. This material also contains 240Pu from the radioactive decay of the 244Cm. Because of the amount of 244Cm is greater than 50% of the total Cm, this material is termed “light curium.” Today, 249Bk and 252Cf are produced in only two places in the world: the United States and Russia. In the United States, the US Department of Energy and its predecessors have made these isotopes and others available to research agencies and commercial users since the late 1960s as part of the Department of Energy heavy-element production program located at ORNL. Currently these materials are provided through the DOE Office of Science Nuclear Physics-Isotope Development and Production for Research and Applications and the Basic Energy Science-Heavy Element Chemistry. Feedstock for the production of 252Cf and other transcurium element by-product isotopes was originally prepared by means of irradiation of multi-kilograms of 239Pu in the large production reactors at the Savannah River Site. Products of the Savannah River Site irradiation were predominantly 242Pu, 243Am, and 244Cm. These materials were shipped to ORNL for production of multi-milligram amounts per year of 252Cf and other transcurium element isotopes by means of irradiation in the HFIR, followed by separation and purification processing in the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC). The transcurium element isotopes produced were distributed to other US and collaborating foreign laboratories for research studies to determine the nuclear and chemical properties of these rare materials. The Cm feed material plays a key role in the efficient production of 252Cf. The early targets irradiated in HFIR contained only the 242Pu, 243Am, and 244Cm produced at Savannah River Site, and the rate of production of 252Cf was less than 1 mg per 8 g of target material as shown in Figure 1. Also, shown in Figure 1 is the significant difference in 252Cf production between the light and heavy curium; it differs by approximately 2 orders of magnitude.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1494014
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2018/5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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