Plutonium scrap recovery at the Savannah River Plant

Processing of plutonium began at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) during 1953. Since that time, SRP has recovered plutonium from waste streams, analytical wastes, solids collected in tanks, filters, and vents, and solids shipped to SRP from other sites. The scrap has varied from 99+% Pu metal to materials containing < 1% Pu. Regardless of the type material involved, initial processing of each scrap material is designed to transform the plutonium to a solution that is compatible with one of the solvent extraction cycles of the Purex process. Various chemical methods have been used to convert scrap materials to compatible solutions. The schemes may include combinations of total dissolution or selective dissolution of either the Pu or the contaminants; selective precipitation of contaminants; and selective adsorption of Pu on either anion or cation resins by selective masking of various ions. A representative sampling of the recovery system developed for use at SRP is presented in this paper. The list is not exhaustive, nor are the methods necessarily the only or even the best methods to use. However, these methods give high recovery of Pu, can be used in the available equipment within the plutonium glove-boxes, and produce solutions which can be transferred directly to the Purex solvent extraction cycles for final purification and finishing