Controlling Pu behavior on Titania: Implications for ... - ACS Publications

Sep 13, 2017 - recovering, and purifying Mo-99 from an irradiated LEU uranyl sulfate; collected data on uranyl peroxide formation and mitigation in an...
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Controlling Pu behavior on Titania: Implications for LEU FissionBased Mo-99 Production Amanda J. Youker,* M. Alex Brown, Thad A. Heltemes, and George F. Vandegrift Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States ABSTRACT: Molybdenum-99 is the parent isotope of the most widely used isotope, technetium-99m, in all diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures. Due to proliferation concerns associated with the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU), the preferred method of fission-based Mo-99 production uses low enriched uranium (LEU) targets. Using LEU versus HEU for Mo-99 production produces ∼30 times more Pu-239, due to neutron capture on U-238 to produce Np-239, which ultimately decays to Pu-239 (t1/2 = 24,110 yr). Argonne National Laboratory is supporting a potential US Mo99 producer in their efforts to produce Mo-99 from an LEU solution. In order to mitigate the generation of large volumes of greater-than-class-C (GTCC) low level waste (Pu-239 concentrations greater than 1 nCi/g), we have focused our efforts on the separation chemistry of Pu and Mo with a titania sorbent in sulfate media. Results from batch and column experiments show that temperature and acid wash concentration can be used to control Pu behavior on titania. salt solutions4,6each exhibiting advantages and disadvantages with respect to one another. Mo-99 production from an LEU (