THE PURIFICATION OF PLUTONIUM BY ELECTROLYSIS OF THE SOLID METAL

摘要

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the transport of impurities within the plutonium lattice under the impress of dc voltage with heavy current flow. Each rod (1/4 in diameter X 4 in long) of alpha plutonium metal was raised to 500°C in a vacuum, 100 dc amperes sent through it, and these conditions maintained for periods of 100, 200, 500, and 1000 hr. Although complete spectrographic analyses were made for all metallic impurities, primary attention was placed on the migration of iron. Iron constitutes one of the major impurities in alpha plutonium and its concentration along the test bars at the completion of these runs was quite markedly affected. At 1000 hr, with a starting concentration of 336 ppm Fe in the original material, 35% of the bar nearest the cathode had 60 ppm, while the extreme anode end had in excess of 820 ppm Fe. Rods run at smaller time periods also had marked concentration gradients, but not quite as extreme.