APPLICATION OF ANION EXCHANGE TO THE REPROCESSING OF PLUTONIUM

Technical Report · Fri Oct 31 04:00:00 EST 1958

OSTI ID:4317338

Ryan, J L; Wheelwright, E J

It has been demonstrated that plutonium (IV) can be absorged from nitric acid solution by anion exchange resins. Anion exchange offers a marked advantage over cation exchange for plutonium processing because of the ease of decontaminating the plutonium from all normally encountered impurities. Anion exchange has been applied as a pri mary method for the separation of plutonium from irradiated uranium, but processing rates and product concentrations were low. Bu operating at elevated temperature (50 to 60 deg C) and by proper choice of anion exchange resins, throughputs may be increased. considerably, product concentration is increased, decontamination improved, and the use of reagents other than nitric acid eliminated. Absorption and elution flow rates as high as 80 mg Pu/min, cm/sup 2/, decontamination factors, of greater than 5 x 10/sup 3/ for fission products and greatert than 5 x 10/sup 4/ for uranium and other metalli impurities, and product concentrations of about 50 g Pu/1 are readily attainable in a single anion exchange cycle under proper operating conditons. The method is both chemically and mechanically simple. Other processing appli- ications for which anion exchange is particularly appropriate are discussed. (auth)

• Research Organization: General Electric Co. Hanford Atomic Products Operation, Richland, Wash.
• NSA Number: NSA-12-014711
• OSTI ID: 4317338
• Report Number(s): A/CONF.15/P/1915
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ADSORPTION
ANIONS
CATIONS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMICALS
CHEMISTRY
CONCENTRATION
DECONTAMINATION
FISSION PRODUCTS
IMPURITIES
ION EXCHANGE
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
IRRADIATION
LIQUID FLOW
MECHANICS
METALS
NITRIC ACID
OPERATION
PLUTONIUM COMPOUNDS
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIOCHEMISTRY
REPROCESSING
RESINS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUTIONS
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
TEMPERATURE
URANIUM
VELOCITY