Abstract
The anion exchange separation of interfering impurities from plutonium in the Dowex-1 8 N HNO3 system is a reliable purification method. An automated system, AUTOSEP, based on this manual procedure has been developed for greater productivity. Samples, in groups of ten, each containing 5–10 mg of plutonium are processed automatically in this system. AUTOSEP incorporates a means of programming reagent delivery, adjustment of the sample to the plutonium (IV) oxidation state via Fe(II) reduction/HNO3 oxidation, plutonium sorption on the resin in 8 N HNO3, washing of the resin bed with 8 N HNO3 to remove impurities, elution of the purified plutonium with 0.36 N HCl–0.01 N HF, and waste effluent disposal. The reagents are delivered by gravity from a module whose only moving parts are rotary valves. The eluted plutonium solutions are collected for subsequent controlled-potential coulometric analysis. The average recovery of plutonium determined by controlled-potential coulometry using this apparatus was 100.00% with a relative standard deviation of 0.10%.
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