Direct chemical reduction of neptunium oxide to neptunium metal using calcium and calcium chloride

摘要

A process of direct reduction of neptunium oxide to neptunium metal using calcium metal as the reducing agent is discussed. After reduction of the oxide to metal, the metal is separated by density from the other components of the reaction mixture and can be easily removed upon cooling. The direct reduction technique consistently produces high purity (98%-99% pure) neptunium metal. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.