Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Recovery of americium-241 from aged plutonium. [Process involves dissolution, complexation with aluminium, solvent extraction, ion exchange chromatography and precipitation]

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7334971· OSTI ID:7334971

A process was developed for recovering /sup 241/Am from aged plutonium oxide. The oxide is dissolved with nitric acid and fluoride, the fluoride is complexed with aluminum, and plutonium and americium are separated by one cycle of solvent extraction. Americium is concentrated and purified by cation exchange chromatography and precipitated as oxalate. The process was successfully operated in Savannah River Plant facilities to recover approximately 720 g of /sup 241/Am from about 60 kg of aged plutonium oxide.

Research Organization:
Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, S.C. (USA). Savannah River Lab.
DOE Contract Number:
E(07-2)-1
OSTI ID:
7334971
Report Number(s):
DP-1419
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English