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Isolating trace fission product elements in separated plutonium for applications in nuclear forensics

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Abstract

A chemical methodology has been selected to isolate and concentrate select trace fission product (FP) elements from separated Pu for nuclear forensics. The methodology employs several different resins and eluents to chromatographically separate U and the FP elements of interest into their own fractions. The U, rare-earth element, Cs, and Ba fractions were isolated with relative yields of ≥ 73.8%, ≥ 80.7%, ≥ 98.5%, and ≥ 98.0%, respectively. The methodology was able to successively isolate select FP elements on the order of 10–10 g out of much larger samples of Pu.

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Acknowledgements

This manuscript was released to the public by Los Alamos National Laboratory under document number LA-UR-20-22960. This work was supported by the Los Alamos National Laboratory Seaborg Institute program and the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0003180. This work was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cyclotron Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Kevin J. Glennon & Charles M. Folden III

  2. Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Kevin J. Glennon & Charles M. Folden III

  3. Nuclear and Radiochemistry, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA

    Kevin J. Glennon, Evelyn M. Bond & Todd A. Bredeweg

  4. Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Sunil S. Chirayath

  5. Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Sunil S. Chirayath

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  1. Kevin J. Glennon
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Correspondence to Charles M. Folden III.

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The Supporting Information includes Gamma spectra and counting statistics of the U, REE, Cs, and Ba fractions from the Plutonium-1 separations (PDF) (DOCX 3725 kb)

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Glennon, K.J., Bond, E.M., Bredeweg, T.A. et al. Isolating trace fission product elements in separated plutonium for applications in nuclear forensics. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 327, 143–151 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07448-3

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