Plasma mass filtering for separation of actinides from lanthanides

Separating lanthanides from actinides is a key process in reprocessing nuclear spent fuel. Plasma mass filters, which operate on dissociated elements, offer conceptual advantages for such a task as compared with conventional chemical methods. The capabilities of a specific plasma mass filter concept, called the magnetic centrifugal mass filter, are analyzed within this particular context. Numerical simulations indicate separation of americium ions from a mixture of lanthanides ions for plasma densities of the order of 10¹² cm⁻³, and ion temperatures of about 10 eV. In light of collision considerations, separating small fractions of heavy elements from a larger volume of lighter ones is shown to enhance the separation capabilities. (paper)