Abstract:
Al
2O
3 chromatography is usally used for separation and purification of
99Mo in the production process of fission
99Mo. To establish the separation process for fission
99Mo from low enriched uranium (LEU) target by Al
2O
3 chromatography, the effect of
99Mo adsorption on acidic Al
2O
3 with different conditions of time, temperature, concentration of nitric acid and pretreatment method of Al
2O
3 were studied. Decontamination effectiveness of major impurities including Sr, Ru, Zr, Te, Cs and I with Al
2O
3 chromatographic method was evaluated. From experimental results, strong adsorption (more than 99%) of Mo on Al
2O
3 in 0.05-0.1 mol/L HNO
3 solution was observed and no adsorption happened in NH
4OH solution. The Al
2O
3-C activated at 500 ℃ for 3 h had a larger specific surface area than those of Al
2O
3-B activated at 150 ℃ for 3 h and Al
2O
3-A pretreated at 60 ℃. In addition, Al
2O
3-C had a better adsorption performance for Mo than Al
2O
3-B and Al
2O
3-A in HNO
3 solution with concentration greater than 0.1 mol/L, the recovery yield of Mo was more than 90% using Al
2O
3 chromatography. The decontamination effectiveness of the impurities Ru, Sr, Zr, Te and Cs was more than 99.99% and more than 92% of
131I could be removed by Al
2O
3 chromatography. Al
2O
3 has high adsorption rate, fast adsorption rate and large adsorption capacity for Mo in HNO
3 solution, which can effectively remove impurities from fission
99Mo. It is suitable for the separation process of fission
99Mo from low enriched uranium target.