NEPTUNIUM OXIDE PROCESSING

The Savannah River Site's HB-Line Facility completed a campaign in which fifty nine cans of neptunium oxide were produced and shipped to the Idaho National Laboratory in the 9975 shipping container. The neptunium campaign was divided into two parts: Part 1 which consisted of oxide made from H-Canyon neptunium solution which did not require any processing prior to conversion into an oxide, and Part 2 which consisted of oxide made from additional H-Canyon neptunium solutions which required processing to purify the solution prior to conversion into an oxide. The neptunium was received as a nitrate solution and converted to oxide through ion-exchange column extraction, precipitation, and calcination. Numerous processing challenges were encountered in order make a final neptunium oxide product that could be shipped in a 9975 shipping container. Among the challenges overcome was the issue of scale: translating lab scale production into full facility production. The balance between processing efficiency and product quality assurance was addressed during this campaign. Lessons learned from these challenges are applicable to other processing projects.