Fast radiochemical separation of yttrium from fission products

A procedure has been developed for the isolation and purification of yttrium from fission products in less than two minutes. The procedure employs a solvent-pair system con-taining HCl and bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid. Efficient extraction and back extraction of yttrium is controlled by variations in the HCl concentration in the aqueous phase. The procedure has been applied to the study of short-lived isotopes (94Y and 95Y). 93Y (10.2 hours) was used as tracer in the study of yttrium extraction dependence on HCl concentration. Fission products were prepared by ir-radiation of enriched uranium (approximately 99% 235U) as uranyl nitrate solution. The pneumatic facilities at Ford Nuclear Reactor of the University of Michigan were used for irradiation. The Ge(Li) detector-multichannel ana-lyzer system was used in the fission products studies. For tracer studies a NaI(Tl) well-type scintillation detector with a single-channel analyzer was used. (T.I.)