U$sup 233$ Purification and Metal Production

Two problems are encountered in U/sup 233/b purification and metal production. One is high alpha activity, which requires that all operations be enclosed. The other is beta-gamma activity originating from U/sup 232/ present in U/sup 233/ as a contaminant. This, the immediate daughter of U/sup 232, produces a chain of strong beta-gamma emitters, which make shielding and thorium separation procedures necessary. Chemically impure solutions of metal fabrication residues are separated from trace amounts of thorium isotopes by cation resin exchange in shielded equipment. The short-lived thorium daugters are allowed to decay, after which beta-gamma activity is low enough to permit chemical purification in unshielded equipment. The U/sup 233/is chemically separated from nonradioactive contaminants by precipitation as UO/sub 4/- xH/sub 2/O, which is calcined to U/sub 3/O/sub 8/. The U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ is reduced to U0/sub 2/ and converted to UF/sub 4/. Pure metal is prepared by bomb reduction of the UF/sub 4/ with calcium as the reducing agent. Residues from the chemical purification steps, reduction, metal fabrication, and ganeral cleanup are processed into nitrate solutions, solvent extracted, and concentrated for recycle. Ion exchange, precipitation, reduction to metal, and casting all have effect upon the thorium isotopes and their daughters, resulting in changes in the levels and growth rates of betagamma activity. (auth