Removal and collection of gallium from surplus weapons plutonium

摘要

Gallium present in weapons plutonium must be removed before it can be used for the production of MOX fuel rods Since gallium is expected to react corrosively within nuclear reactors, the main goal of the preliminary studies was to evaluate a new process which could be developed to remove gallium from a gallium oxide/plutonium oxide matrix. This effort is being conducted in close consultation with the personnel involved in MOX fuel fabrication efforts within the US Department of Energy (DOE).