U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Scientific and Technical Information
Recovery of americium-241 from aged plutonium metal
Abstract
About 5 kg of ingrown /sup 241/Am was recovered from 850 kg of aged plutonium using a process developed specifically for Savannah River Plant application. The aged plutonium metal was first dissolved in sulfamic acid. Sodium nitrite was added to oxidize the plutonium to Pu(IV) and the residual sulfamate ion was oxidized to nitrogen gas and sulfate. The plutonium and americium were separated by one cycle of solvent extraction. The recovered products were subsequently purified by cation exchange chromatography, precipitated as oxalates, and calcined to the oxides. Plutonium processng was routine. Before cation exchange purification, the aqueous americium solution from solvent extraction was concentrated and stripped of nitric acid. More than 98% of the /sup 241/Am was then recovered from the cation exchange column where it was effectively decontaminated from all major impurities except nickel and chromium. This partially purified product solution was concentrated further by evaporation and then denitrated by reaction with formic acid. Individual batches of americium oxalate were then precipitated, filtered, washed, and calcined. About 98.5% of the americium was recovered. The final product purity averaged 98% /sup 241/AmO/sub 2/; residual impurities were primarily lead and nickel.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Lab.
- OSTI Identifier:
- 6041193
- Report Number(s):
- DP-1577
ON: DE81030751; TRN: 81-016812
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-76SR00001
- Resource Type:
- Technical Report
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; AMERICIUM 241; ION EXCHANGE CHROMATOGRAPHY; RECOVERY; SOLVENT EXTRACTION; PLUTONIUM; DISSOLUTION; AMERICIUM OXIDES; CALCINATION; CATIONS; FORMIC ACID; NITRITES; PRECIPITATION; SODIUM COMPOUNDS; SOLVENT PROPERTIES; SULFAMIC ACID; ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS; ACTINIDE ISOTOPES; ACTINIDE NUCLEI; ACTINIDES; ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS; ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; AMERICIUM COMPOUNDS; AMERICIUM ISOTOPES; CARBOXYLIC ACIDS; CHALCOGENIDES; CHARGED PARTICLES; CHEMICAL REACTIONS; CHROMATOGRAPHY; DECOMPOSITION; ELEMENTS; EXTRACTION; HEAVY NUCLEI; HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS; INORGANIC ACIDS; IONS; ISOTOPES; METALS; MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS; NITROGEN COMPOUNDS; NUCLEI; ODD-EVEN NUCLEI; ORGANIC ACIDS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; PYROLYSIS; RADIOISOTOPES; SEPARATION PROCESSES; THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES; TRANSPLUTONIUM COMPOUNDS; TRANSURANIUM COMPOUNDS; TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems; 400105* - Separation Procedures; 050800 - Nuclear Fuels- Spent Fuels Reprocessing
Citation Formats
Gray, L. W., Burney, G. A., Reilly, T. A., Wilson, T. W., and McKibben, J. M. Recovery of americium-241 from aged plutonium metal. United States: N. p., 1980.
Web. doi:10.2172/6041193.
Gray, L. W., Burney, G. A., Reilly, T. A., Wilson, T. W., & McKibben, J. M. Recovery of americium-241 from aged plutonium metal. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/6041193
Gray, L. W., Burney, G. A., Reilly, T. A., Wilson, T. W., and McKibben, J. M. 1980.
"Recovery of americium-241 from aged plutonium metal". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/6041193. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6041193.
@article{osti_6041193,
title = {Recovery of americium-241 from aged plutonium metal},
author = {Gray, L. W. and Burney, G. A. and Reilly, T. A. and Wilson, T. W. and McKibben, J. M.},
abstractNote = {About 5 kg of ingrown /sup 241/Am was recovered from 850 kg of aged plutonium using a process developed specifically for Savannah River Plant application. The aged plutonium metal was first dissolved in sulfamic acid. Sodium nitrite was added to oxidize the plutonium to Pu(IV) and the residual sulfamate ion was oxidized to nitrogen gas and sulfate. The plutonium and americium were separated by one cycle of solvent extraction. The recovered products were subsequently purified by cation exchange chromatography, precipitated as oxalates, and calcined to the oxides. Plutonium processng was routine. Before cation exchange purification, the aqueous americium solution from solvent extraction was concentrated and stripped of nitric acid. More than 98% of the /sup 241/Am was then recovered from the cation exchange column where it was effectively decontaminated from all major impurities except nickel and chromium. This partially purified product solution was concentrated further by evaporation and then denitrated by reaction with formic acid. Individual batches of americium oxalate were then precipitated, filtered, washed, and calcined. About 98.5% of the americium was recovered. The final product purity averaged 98% /sup 241/AmO/sub 2/; residual impurities were primarily lead and nickel.},
doi = {10.2172/6041193},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6041193},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1980},
month = {Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1980}
}