Systems and methods for efficiently preparing plutonium-238 with high isotopic purity
US9196389B2 · kind B2 · utility
1Cited by
29References
24Claims
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Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 13, 2012 |
| Grant date | Nov 24, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 17, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG21G1/02
- WIPO fieldMaterials, metallurgy
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A method for preparing plutonium-238 (Pu-238) includes using a nuclear reactor in irradiating a liquid containing a neptunium-237 (Np-237) based compound with neutrons to convert a portion of the Np-237 based compound to a Np-238 based compound; retaining the liquid containing the resulting mixture for a sufficient amount of time for the Np-238 based compound to at least partially convert to a Pu-238 based compound; and separating the Pu-238 based compound from the neptunium based compounds using fractional distillation or a chemical separation method.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.