Stability of plutonium(IV) and plutonium(VI) in nitric acid solutions under strong α-irradiation

Rykov, A.G.; Andreychuk, N. N.; Vasil'ev, V.Ya.; Ермаков, В. А.

doi:10.1007/bf02520507

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Radiolysis by alpha radiation is known to cause oxidation of Pu in solution (Rykov, et al 1979). The mechanism by which this occurs in a nitric acid medium is shown in Eq.…”

Section: Pu Oxidation Statementioning

confidence: 99%

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FY12 Final Report for PL10-Mod Separations-PD12: Electrochemically Modulated Separation of Plutonium from Dilute and Concentrated Dissolver Solutions for Analysis by Gamma Spectroscopy

Pratt¹,

Arrigo²,

Duckworth³

et al. 2013

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Executive SummaryAccurate and timely analysis of plutonium in spent nuclear fuel is critical in nuclear safeguards for detection of both protracted and rapid plutonium diversions. Gamma spectroscopy is a viable method for accurate and timely measurements of plutonium provided that the plutonium is well separated from the interfering fission and activation products present in spent nuclear fuel. Electrochemically modulated separation (EMS) is a method that has been used successfully to isolate picogram amounts of Pu from U in nitric acid matrices. With EMS, Pu adsorption may be turned "on" and "off" depending on the applied voltage, allowing for collection and stripping of Pu without the addition of chemical reagents. In this work, we have scaled up the EMS process to isolate microgram quantities of Pu from matrices encountered in spent nuclear fuel during reprocessing. Several challenges have been addressed including surface area limitations, radiolysis effects, electrochemical cell performance stability, and chemical interferences. After these challenges were resolved, 6 µg Pu was deposited in the electrochemical cell with approximately an 800-fold reduction of fission and activation product levels from a spent nuclear fuel sample. Modeling showed that these levels of Pu collection and interference reduction were not quite sufficient for direct Pu detection by gamma spectroscopy. The main remaining challenges are to achieve a more complete Pu isolation and to deposit larger quantities of Pu for successful gamma analysis of Pu. If gamma analyses of Pu are successful, EMS will allow for accurate and timely on-site analysis for enhanced Pu safeguards.

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“…Radiolysis by alpha radiation is known to cause oxidation of Pu in solution (Rykov, et al 1979). The mechanism by which this occurs in a nitric acid medium is shown in Eq.…”

Section: Pu Oxidation Statementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is due to the decrease in plutonium concentration. At high concentrations, Pu undergoes disproportionation reactions that result in an equilibrated solution with some Pu 4+ remaining (Rykov, 1979). Hence, for the fourth dissolver solution test, we worked with the assumption that the Pu would have to be reduced before EMS could be performed.…”

Section: +mentioning

confidence: 99%