RADIOANALYTICAL DETERMINATION OF PLUTONIUM AND AMERICIUM USING ION EXCHANGE AND EXTRACTION CHROMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE IN URINE

摘要

The use of anion exchange chromatography for the separation of Pu and extraction chromatography technique for the separation of Am from urine samples was studied. In the earlier method, Pu separation was carried out by anion exchange chromatography followed by Am separation by cation exchange chromatography. The chemical recovery of Am obtained by cation exchange separation method was inconsistent and low in the range 30-70%. In this study, the average Pu recovery obtained using anion exchange chromatography was 89.2 with standard deviation of 10.4 and the average Am recovery obtained using extraction chromatography with TRU resin was 77.4 with standard deviation of 14.8. Moreover, Am separation could be completed within three hours using the TRU column compared to two days that were required for the cation exchange chromatography.