PNNL

Abstract

Complex, high ionic strength media are used throughout the plutonium cycle, from its processing and purification in nitric acid, to waste storage and processing in alkaline solutions of concentrated electrolytes, to geologic disposal in brines. Plutonium oxidation/reduction, stability, radiolysis, solution and solid phase chemistry have been studied in such systems. In some cases, predictive models for describing Pu chemistry under such non-ideal conditions have been developed, which are usually based on empirical databases describing specific ion interactions. In Chapter 11, Non-Ideal Systems, studies on the behavior of Pu in various complex media and available model descriptions are reviewed.