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Title: ANION EXCHANGE RECOVERY OF PLUTONIUM FROM REDUCTION RESIDUES

Abstract

An anion exchange process was demonstrated for the recovery of Pu from waste produced in the reduction of Pu salts to the metal. Pu in a highiy salted 6M nitric acid solution, derived from the dissolution of slag and crucible waste, was separated from impurities by absorbing the Pu(IV) nitrate complex on the anion exchange resin and subsequentiy eluting with dilute nitric acid. A flowsheet for plant operation is presented. (auth)

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) & Co. Savannah River Lab., Aiken, S.C.
OSTI Identifier:
4713230
Report Number(s):
DP-447
NSA Number:
NSA-17-018173
DOE Contract Number:
AT(07-2)-1
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-63
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
CHEMISTRY; ADSORPTION; DIAGRAMS; IMPURITIES; ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS; LEACHING; NITRIC ACID; PLUTONIUM; PLUTONIUM NITRATES; REPROCESSING; SEPARATION PROCESSES; SLAGS; SOLUTIONS; WASTE PROCESSING; WASTE SOLUTIONS

Citation Formats

Russell, E.R. ANION EXCHANGE RECOVERY OF PLUTONIUM FROM REDUCTION RESIDUES. United States: N. p., 1960. Web. doi:10.2172/4713230.
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Russell, E.R. ANION EXCHANGE RECOVERY OF PLUTONIUM FROM REDUCTION RESIDUES. United States. doi:10.2172/4713230.
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Russell, E.R. Mon . "ANION EXCHANGE RECOVERY OF PLUTONIUM FROM REDUCTION RESIDUES". United States. doi:10.2172/4713230. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/4713230.
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@article{osti_4713230,
title = {ANION EXCHANGE RECOVERY OF PLUTONIUM FROM REDUCTION RESIDUES},
author = {Russell, E.R.},
abstractNote = {An anion exchange process was demonstrated for the recovery of Pu from waste produced in the reduction of Pu salts to the metal. Pu in a highiy salted 6M nitric acid solution, derived from the dissolution of slag and crucible waste, was separated from impurities by absorbing the Pu(IV) nitrate complex on the anion exchange resin and subsequentiy eluting with dilute nitric acid. A flowsheet for plant operation is presented. (auth)},
doi = {10.2172/4713230},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1960},
month = {Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1960}
}
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Technical Report:
View Technical Report (0.45 MB)
DOI:  10.2172/4713230
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  • ;
    Continuing studies of plutonium recovery from direct oxide reduction (DOR) and electrorefining (ER) pyrochemical process residues show that chloride anion exchange coprocessing is useful and effective. Coprocessing utilizes DOR residue salt as a reagent to supply the bulk of chloride ion needed for the chloride anion exchange process and to improve ER residue salt solubility. ER residue salt and ER scrapeout can be successfully treated, either alone or together, using coprocessing. In addition, chloride anion exchange at 2.0M acidity results in improved process performance by greatly reducing disproportionation of plutonium(IV), eliminating restrictions on oxidation time compared to operation at 1.0Mmore » acidity. Laboratory-scale experiments show that below-discard effluent plutonium losses are obtained. Resin capacity was 30 g Pu/{ell} or greater. Furthermore, it is feasible to perform chloride anion exchange recovery of plutonium from filtrate resulting from precipitation of dicesium hexachloroplutonate (Cs{sub 2}PuCl{sub 6}, an oxidant salt to be used in the molten salt extraction process) and integration of its preparation with recovery of DOR salts. 10 refs., 9 figs., 10 tabs.« less

  • ; ; ; ...
    Chloride anion exchange has been investigated for recovery of plutonium from Direct Oxide Reduction (DOR) waste salts. Limited experimental results indicate that the conditions for <10/sup -3/ g/l losses of plutonium to effluents are feed adjustment to >8.5M total chloride, including 1.0M HC1 + 0.05M NaNO/sub 2/; a wash solution of 8M HC1 + 0.05M NaNO/sub 2/; elution with 0.5M HC1 and use of Amberlite IRA-938 for the anion exchange resin. These conditions result in >99% recovery of the plutonium. The eluate also contains approx.200 ppM calcium. Oxalic acid precipitation of Pu(III) recovers 99.2% if the molar ratio is 6:1more » and the acidity is 0.8M. After calcination, the resulting plutonium oxide is suitable for DOR recycle if blended. Also, in the investigation, limited studies of extraction chromatography showed unacceptable plutonium losses to effluents.« less

  • ;
    A semicontinuous process was developed for dissolving the solid residues that are produced in the Ca-reduction process for converting plutonium fluoride to plutonium metal. The slag and crucible residues are charged to a column-type dissolver and are there exposed to a flowing solution of hot nitric acid followed by a nitric acid-aluminum nitrate solution. The resultant solution is suitable as feed to an ion exchange process for recovering Pu. A method was demonstrated for recovering Pu from the dissolver solution by anion exchange in agitated beds of resin. The use of agitated beds of resin eliminates the need for filteringmore » the feed. (auth)« less

  • ; ;
    Laboratory and plant data related to the recovery of uranium from magnesium fluoride slag are presented. The operation of the Higgins semicontinuous ion exchange cortactor and the chemical and mechanical characteristics of the process are described. The system has proven satisfactory for processing tonnage quantities of slag waste materials. (auth)

  • The original purpose for installing the IWW anion exchange equipment in the Purex plant was to recover plutonium from high waste loss batches of IWW. The present work shows that this is feasible, and similar recovery of neptunium can also be obtained. The process can be applied to routine recovery of plutonium and neptunium from IWW even with only normal operating losses to the IWW, e.g., io reduce the neptunium losses currently experienced during reflux type operation. However, both technical and economic considerations would seem to indicate that recovery from batches with high plutonium or neptunium content would be moremore » satisfactory. One attractive application is to recycle neptunium via the 3WB until a large inventory is developed, and then drop this to the IWW for adion exchange recovery. This has the distinct advantage of not requiring a plant shut-down for neptunium recovery. (auth)« less