LOW-TEMPERATURE REFLUORINATION OF PuF$sub 6$ DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS

The use of direct refluorinntion to recover plutonium deposited in equipment by consumption and decomposition of PuF/sub 6/ gas was the subject of a brief experimental program Measurable rates of refluorination were obtained at temperatures as low as 170 C and by means of a statistically dcsigned experiment; the approximate signficance of the three variables, temperature, fluorine pressure, and fluorine flow rate, was determined. Temperature was found to be the most significant variable, and the heat of reaction based on removal rates measured from 170 to 350 C compared favorably with reported values obtained by equilibrating PuF/sub 6/ and F2 gas mixtures. At plutonium surface concentrntions below -3 mu g/cm, the rate of refluorination was found to be proportional to the plutonium surface concentration. In no case was the surface concentration decreased below 0.08 mu g/cm2. (auth