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AssigneeCommissariat a l'Energie Atomique
InventorsGerard Koehly, Jacques Bourges, Charles Madic, Michael Lecomte
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The invention relates to a process for recovering the plutonium contained in the solid waste, such as process, technological and laboratory waste. The waste is contacted with aqueous nitric acid solution having a nitric acid concentration of 2 to 8 mole/l, which contains a compound of Ag.sup.2+ soluble in the solution, for oxidizing the plutonium present in the waste and for dissolving same in the nitric solution. Preferably, contacting takes place in an electrolytic cell having an anode and a cathode, by applying a potential difference between anode and cathode which is sufficient to continuously regenerate the Ag.sup.2+ ions used for oxidizing the elements present in said waste.
A process for the recovery of plutonium contained in solid waste, comprising the steps of contacting solid waste containing plutonium in the form of a solid oxidizable plutonium compound with an aqueous nitric acid solution having a nitric acid concentration of 2 to 8 mole/l and containing a compound of Ag.sup.2+ which is soluble in the solution, for a time adequate to oxidize by means of the Ag.sup.2+ ions plutonium compound present in the waste and to dissolve the same in the solution, said solution being free of fluoride ions sufficient to catalyze nitric acid dissolution of plutonium compound present in the waste, and said plutonium compound being substantially insoluble in said aqueous nitric acid solution in the absence of said Ag.sup.2+ ions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.