Processing of highly irradiated Al--Pu alloy

Four slugs containing a sum total of 20.950 g of plutonium as Al-Pu 10% alloy have been irradiated in the EL-3 reactor to an integrated flux of 5 × 1021 n/cm2. After 2.5 years of cooling, the processing has been carried out in the hot cell "Petrus." It consisted of (a) an alkaline and/or nitric dissolution of the "napkin-rings," (b) a plutonium separation by two extraction cycles with trilaurylamine (5 vol%), each consisting of a plutonium extraction from a nitric medium and stripping by a solution containing sulfuric and nitric acids, (c) a transplutonium element separation by two HDEHP (8 vol %) extraction cycles, each consisting of an actinide-lanthanide extraction from an aluminum and lithium nitrate solution and a selective stripping of the transplutonium elements by a lithium nitrate solution containing diethylenetriaminopentaacetic ions (DTPA), and (d) an americium/curium separation by anion exchange resin using a nitric solution containing a complexing agent as eluent.From these runs 2.6 g of plutonium, 150 mg of americium, and 15 mg of curium have been recovered. The overall yields of plutonium and transplutonium elements were >97 and 98%, respectively, and the β — γ decontamination factors >105.In general, these results show clearly the effectiveness of solvent extraction in actinide reprocessing.