Plutonium Purification by Anion Exchange for Mark-18A Target Processing

Technical Report · Thu Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2555693· OSTI ID:2555693

Karay, Nicholas S. ^[1]; Kyser, Eddie A. ^[1]; Pierce, Robert A. ^[1]

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1. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, SC (United States)

The Mark-18A (Mk-18A) program was established to preserve the unique materials found in Mk-18A targets for future research and development activity within the Department of Energy or other U.S. government agencies. Some of the unique, high-valued materials include but are not limited to plutonium-244, heavy curium, americium-241, and californium. The Savannah River Site has sixty-five (65) Mk-18A targets available for recovery. Mk-18A targets will be removed from confinement, dissolved, chemically separated, and calcined to a stable oxide for transport to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The baseline flowsheet is patterned after the ORNL flowsheet, but adapted to the needs and capabilities of facilities at the Savannah River National Laboratory. The primary method for chemical separation of Pu from the other components of the targets is anion exchange using the Reillex™ HPQ resin. Although data exist in the literature for predicting the behavior of Mk-18A dissolver solutions on the Reillex™ resin, it was determined that the presence of a range of dissolved metals might negatively affect the resin performance, resulting in increased ²⁴⁴Pu losses or poorer product quality.

• Research Organization: Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
• DOE Contract Number: 89303321CEM000080; AC09-08SR22470
• OSTI ID: 2555693
• Report Number(s): SRNL--TR-2017-00193-X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
Mark-18A
anion exchange
plutonium