| 摘要 |
<p>Uranium-base material contaminated with plutonium and other fission products is purified by dissolving it in zinc or zincmagnesium alloy and increasing the magnesium concentration of the solvent to precipitate the uranium which is then separated from the solvent. The nuclear material may be either metallic p uranium or a uranium compound, e.g. UO2. In the former case, the uranium is dissolved in zinc and magnesium is added directly to the solution in sufficient quantity to form the zinc-magnesium eutectic and cause precipitation of the pure uranium. In the latter case, the uranium compound is dissolved in a zinc-magnesium alloy containing at least 6% of magnesium and the magnesium concentration of the solvent is increased, either by adding magnesium or by distilling off some zinc, until the solvent has eutectic proportions when the pure uranium is again precipitated. In both cases after dissolution of the nuclear material in the solvent, the solution may be cooled to precipitate intermetallic compounds of uranium, plutonium and zinc and these intermetallic compounds melted with magnesium to precipitate uranium. Specification 833,153 is referred to.</p> |
