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THE THERMAL STABILITY OF PLUTONYL NITRATE SOLUTIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR USE IN A HOMOGENEOUS AQUEOUS REACTOR

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:4223070
The effect of high temperature (150 to 300 deg C) on the stability of Pu(VI) solutions in dilute nitric acid is reported. The plutonium concentrations were 7 to 10 g/l, the nitric acid concentrations 0.01 M to 1.0 M, and the containing materials glass and silica (for experiments without an oxygen over-pressure) and stainless steel (for experiments with 500 psi of oxygen). It is concluded that the use of stainless steel and an oxygen overpressure increase the apparent solution stability, probably due to the oxidizing influence of either the oxygen or the corrosion products of the stainless steel, but that complete stability of a 7 g/l solution over an observation period of three days at 265 deg C can only be attained by the use of a nitric acid concentration in the range 0.1 to 0.5 M. This is usually considered to be rather high for a reactor system. (auth)
Research Organization:
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Research Group. Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, Berks, England (United Kingdom)
NSA Number:
NSA-13-017771
OSTI ID:
4223070
Report Number(s):
AERE-C/R-2698
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

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