Feasibility study of plutonium and uranium measurements in input dissolver solutions

摘要

We are studying the isotope dilution gamma-ray spectrometry (IDGS) technique for the simultaneous measurements of concentrations and isotopic compositions for both plutonium and uranium in spent-fuel dissolver solutions at a reprocessing plant. Previous experiments have demonstrated that the IDGS technique can determine the elemental concentrations and isotopic compositions of plutonium in dissolver solutions. The chemical separation and recovery methods for just plutonium were ion-exchange techniques using anion exchange resin beads and filter papers. To keep both plutonium and uranium in the sample for simultaneous measurements, a new sample preparation method is being studied and developed: extraction chromatography. The technique uses U/TEVA(center dot)Spec resin to separate fission products and recover both uranium and plutonium in the resin from dissolver solutions for measurements by high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry.