Removal of sulfamic acid from plutonium sulfamate--sulfamic acid solution
Plutonium metal can be readily dissolved in aqueous solutions of sulfamic acid. When the plutonium sulfamate--sulfamic acid solutions are added to normal purex process streams, the sulfamate ion is oxidized by addition of sodium nitrite. This generates sodium sulfate which must be stored as radioactive waste. When recovery of ingrown /sup 241/Am or storage of the dissolved plutonium must be considered, the sulfamate ion poses major and undesirable precipitation problems in the process streams. The present studies show that 40 to 80% of the sulfamate present in the dissolver solutions can be removed by precipitation as sulfamic acid by the addition of concentrated nitric acid. Addition of 64% nitric acid allows precipitation of 40 to 50% of the sulfamate; addition of 72% nitric acid allows precipitation of 50 to 60% of the sulfamate. If the solutions are chilled, additional sulfamic acid will precipitate. If the solutions are chilled to -10/sup 0/C, about 70 to 80% of the orginal sulfamic acid in the dissolver will precipitate. A single, low-volume wash of the sulfamic acid crystals with concentrated nitric acid will decontaminate the crystals to a plutonium content of <10/sup 5/ dis/(min-gram) (approx./sup 2/..mu..g Pu/g sulfamic acid).
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-09-0001
- OSTI ID:
- 6499747
- Report Number(s):
- DP-1503
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105 -- Separation Procedures
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
DISPERSIONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
MIXTURES
NITRIC ACID
PRECIPITATION
PUREX PROCESS
REMOVAL
REPROCESSING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUTIONS
SULFAMIC ACID