Comparison of Anion Exchange Resins for Recovering Plutonium from Nitric Acid Waste

Microreticular and macroreticular anion exchange resins were compared for their capability of recovering plutonium from nitric acid waste streams. Plutonium breakthrough capacity and elution behavior of the resins were determined as a function of resin properties. Small-bead microreticular resins with a polystyrene matrix containing 4% divinylbenzene cross-linkage showed the best performance. Of the 20- to 50-mesh resins, the macroreticular resin, Amberlite IRA-938, gave the highest plutonium breakthrough capacity and eluted plutonium the fastest.