TREATMENT OF PLUTONIUM PROCESS RESIDUES BY MOLTEN SALT OXIDATION

Molten Salt Oxidation (MSO) is a thermal process that can remove more than 99.999 % of the organic matrix from combustible 238Pu material. 238Plutonium processing residues are injected into a molten salt bed with an excess of air. The salt (sodium carbonate) functions as a catalyst for the conversion of the organic material to carbon dioxide and water. Reactive species such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, sulfur, phosphorous and arsenic in the organic waste react with the molten salt to form the corresponding neutralized salts, NaF, NaCl, NaBr, NaI, Na2SO4, Na3PO4 and NaAsO2 or Na3AsO4. Plutonium and other metals react with the molten salt and air to form metal salts or oxides. Saturated salt will be recycled and aqueous chemical separation will be used to recover the 238Pu. The Los Alamos National Laboratory system, which is currently in the conceptual design stage, will be scaled down from current systems for use inside a glovebox