화학공학소재연구정보센터
Separation Science and Technology, Vol.41, No.10, 2031-2046, 2006
Purification of plutonium chloride solutions via precipitation and washing
Pyrochemical operations at Los Alamos Plutonium Facility use high temperature melts of calcium, sodium, and potassium salts in the plutonium metal purification process. Aqueous chloride operations recover the remaining plutonium from the residue salts, generating copious quantities of corrosive aqueous waste while occupying a large area of the facility. To minimize these problems, an alternative flow sheet was tested in which dissolved salts were precipitated and washed to remove interstitial chloride before further processing in aqueous nitrate operations. Results of the tests will be discussed from the perspective of chloride removal, plutonium recovery, filterability, and waste minimization.