Method of processing plutonium and/or uranyl nitrate
AssigneeAlkem GmbH
InventorsWolfgang Stoll, Christian Ost, Volker Schneider
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Method for treating plutonium and/or uranyl nitrate by superheating and concentrating a nitric acid starting solution, characterized by the feature that nitric acid starting solution is concentrated to form a Pu(VI)-and/or U(VI)-containing nitrate melt, is poured into a mold, is solidified by cooling down, and is transported and/or stored as a solidified solid body until further processing.
Claims10
Method for treating a nitrate selected from the group consisting of plutonium nitrate and uranyl nitrate and mixtures thereof in aqueous nitric acid solution to produce a nitrate in compact solid form which can with greater safety be stored or transported as a solid body until further processing, which comprises
- (a) oxidizing plutonium nitrate which may be contained in the aqueous solution to cause the plutonium to reach a stage of oxidation with a valence of VI,
- (b) heating the aqueous solution to vaporize water and nitrogen oxides and form a Pu(VI)-containing nitrate melt or a U(VI)-containing melt or melt of said latter two nitrates,
- (c) pouring the melt into a mold wherein the melt is solidified by cooling down, and
- (d) storing or transporting the solidified body until further processing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.