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Downloaded by UNIV OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO on December 21, 2015 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: July 20, 1981 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1981-0161.ch010
Chromatographic Cation Exchange Separation of Decigram Quantities of Californium and Other Transplutonium Elements D. E. BENKER, F. R. CHATTIN, E. D. COLLINS, J. B. KNAUER, P. B. ORR, R. G. GOSS, and J. T. WIGGINS Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, T N 37830
High-pressure c a t i o n exchange is used r o u t i n e l y in the Transuranium P r o c e s s i n g P l a n t (TRU) at Oak Ridge N a t i o n a l Laboratory (ORNL) t o separate decigram q u a n t i t i e s of t r a n s p l u t o nium elements t h a t have been produced in the High Flux Isotope Reactor. The process is based on chromatographic e l u t i o n from Dowex 50W-X8 r e s i n u s i n g ammonium alpha-hydroxyisobutyrate (AHIB) as the e l u e n t (1). Since 1967, a total of 4.6 g of Cf, 0.5 g of Bk, 19 mg of Es, and 10 pg of Fm (estimated) has been separated at TRU u s i n g this procedure. T h i s process, which was originally developed at ORNL by Campbell and Buxton ( 2 , 3 ) , was l a t e r adapted f o r p r o c e s s i n g at high activity l e v e l s at TRU by Baybarz et al. ( 4 ) . High pressure is r e q u i r e d so t h a t very f i n e r e s i n and high flow r a t e s may be used. The f i n e r e s i n is necessary to p r o v i d e the r e s o l u t i o n f o r good s e p a r a t i o n of the a c t i n i d e s , while the high flow r a t e is needed to m i t i g a t e r a d i a t i o n damage. A l s o , the use of high pressure suppresses r a d i o l y t i c gassing. T h i s paper d i s c u s s e s the equipment and process steps used in the initial s e p a r a t i o n of transplutonium elements and p r e sents some t y p i c a l r e s u l t s . 252
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Process D e s c r i p t i o n The transplutonium elements are separated at TRU u s i n g e l u t i o n development chromatography, which is normally the p r e f e r r e d type of process f o r s e p a r a t i n g small q u a n t i t i e s of these elements ( 5 ) . In the procedure used at TRU, the t r i v a l e n t a c t i n i d e s are first sorbed from a d i l u t e (
