Published May 1980 | Version v1
Journal article

Purification of polonium-210 using pyrochemical extraction

  • 1. Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA

Description

An efficient extraction process that does not utilize halides or organic solvents has been developed for the recovery and purification of 210Po. Polonium-210, produced in bismuth metal by neutron irradiation, is extracted from molten bismuth metal into molten NaOH in an unique 3-compartment contactor under an inert atmosphere. At a temperature of 450+-250C, and at a NaOH/Bi weight ratio of 0.044, five successive 60-minute extractions remove > 96% of the 210Po. Following phase separation and freezing, additional purification steps include dissolution of the solidified NaOH in HNO3, recovery of 210Po from this solution by MnO2 carrier precipitation, dissolution of the precipitate by H2O2 in HNO3, and , finally, electrodeposition of 210Po onto platinum gauze

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Sep. Sci. Technol.
Journal Volume
15
Journal Issue
4
Series
Sep. Sci. Technol.
Journal Page Range
987-997