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Separation and recovery of Cm from Cm–Pu mixed oxide samples containing Am impurity

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Abstract

Curium was separated and recovered as an oxalate from a Cm–Pu mixed oxide which had been a 244Cm oxide sample prepared more than 40 years ago and the ratio of 244Cm to 240Pu was estimated to 0.2:0.8. Radiochemical analyses of the solution prepared by dissolving the Cm–Pu mixed oxide in nitric acid revealed that the oxide contained about 1 at% of 243Am impurity. To obtain high purity curium solution, plutonium and americium were removed from the solution by an anion exchange method and by chromatographic separation using tertiary pyridine resin embedded in silica beads with nitric acid/methanol mixed solution, respectively. Curium oxalate, a precursor compound of curium oxide, was prepared from the purified curium solution. 11.9 mg of Cm oxalate having some amounts of impurities, which are 243Am (5.4 at%) and 240Pu (0.3 at%) was obtained without Am removal procedure. Meanwhile, 12.0 mg of Cm oxalate (99.8 at% over actinides) was obtained with the procedure including Am removals. Both of the obtained Cm oxalate sample were supplied for the syntheses and measurements of the thermochemical properties of curium compounds.

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Acknowledgments

This study contains the result of “Basic actinide chemistry and physics research in close cooperation with hot laboratories” carried out under the Strategic Promotion Program for Basic Nuclear Research by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. The authors acknowledge Prof. T. Suzuki (Tokyo Institute of Technology, present affiliation is Nagaoka University of Technology) for providing the tertiary pyridine resin. The authors acknowledge Messrs. S. Tagami, A. Itoh, and H. Kato for their technical supports.

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Author notes

  1. Seong-Yun Kim

    Present address: Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan

  2. Yasuji Morita & Kazuo Minato

    Present address: Tokai Research and Development Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata-shirane, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken, 319-1195, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata-shirane, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken, 319-1195, Japan

    Hirokazu Hayashi, Hiromichi Hagiya, Seong-Yun Kim, Yasuji Morita, Mitsuo Akabori & Kazuo Minato

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  1. Hirokazu Hayashi
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  2. Hiromichi Hagiya
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Correspondence to Hirokazu Hayashi.

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Hayashi, H., Hagiya, H., Kim, SY. et al. Separation and recovery of Cm from Cm–Pu mixed oxide samples containing Am impurity. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 296, 1275–1286 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2304-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2304-y

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