Radioiodine interferes significantly in short-lived and low yield fission product detection by radiometric means. A simple method has been developed for removing radiotellurium and its radioiodine daughters from process HEU analyte streams. The method uses metallic copper relying on the electrochemical behavior between Cu and Te to deposit Te on the surface of Cu packed chromatography columns. Method development on stable metal samples exhibited >93% Te removal from high HCl conditions (>5 M). The method was applied to processed HEU streams providing > 90% Te removal (examining 129mTe and 132Te), and providing > 99.9% radioiodine removal (examining 131I and 132I).
Revised: June 13, 2019 |
Published: July 2, 2018
Citation
Uhnak N.E., S.S. Morrison, S.M. Morley, A.C. Edwards, E.C. Finn, and B.N. Seiner. 2018.Cu Metal Based Radiotellurium Separation from Simulated and HEU Process Streams.Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 317, no. 1:519-526.PNNL-SA-132620.doi:10.1007/s10967-018-5840-2