Decontamination of soils and materials containing medium-fired PuO{sub 2} using inhibited fluorides with polymer filtration technology [electronic resource].

Published:: Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy, 1997.
Physical Description:: pages 2.35-2.38 : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators:: United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information

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Summary:

The decontamination of soils and/or materials from medium-fired plutonium oxide (PuO₂) with an effective and efficient decontamination agent that will not significantly dissolve the matrix requires a new and innovative technology. After testing several decontamination agents and solutions for dissolution of medium-fired PuO₂, the most successful decontamination solutions were fluoride compounds, which were effective in breaking the Pu-oxide bond but would not extensively dissolve soil constituents and other materials. The fluoride compounds, tetra fluoboric acid (HBF₄) and hydrofluorosilicic acid (H₂F₆Si), were effective in dissolving medium-fired PuO₂, and did not seem to have the potential to dissolve the matrix. In both compounds, the fluoride atom is attached to a boron or silicon atom that inhibits the reactivity of the fluoride towards other compounds or materials containing atoms less attracted to the fluoride atom in an acid solution. Because of this inhibition of the reactivity of the fluoride ion, these compounds are termed inhibited fluoride compounds or agents. Both inhibited fluorides studied effectively dissolved medium-fired PuO₂ but exhibited a tendency to not attack stainless steel or soil. The basis for selecting inhibited fluorides was confirmed during leaching tests of medium-fired PuO₂ spiked into soil taken from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). When dissolved in dilute HNO₃, HCl, or HBr, both inhibited fluoride compounds were effective at solubilizing the medium-fired PuO₂ from spiked INEL soil.

Report Numbers:

E 1.99:pnnl-sa--28461-rev.1
E 1.99: conf-970148--rev.1
conf-970148--rev.1
pnnl-sa--28461-rev.1

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Published through SciTech Connect.
10/01/1997.
"pnnl-sa--28461-rev.1"
" conf-970148--rev.1"
"DE97052111"
Efficient Separations and Processing (ESP) Crosscutting Program FY 1997 technical exchange meeting, Gaithersburg, MD (United States), 28-30 Jan 1997.
Smith, B.F.; Villarreal, R.; Temer, D.J.
Science, Inc., Anaheim, CA (United States)

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