Plutonium oxide dissolution

Several processing options for dissolving plutonium oxide (PuO{sub 2}) from high-fired materials have been studied. The scoping studies performed on these options were focused on PuO{sub 2} typically generated by burning plutonium metal and PuO{sub 2} produced during incineration of alpha contaminated waste. At least two processing options remain applicable for dissolving high-fired PuO{sub 2} in canyon dissolvers. The options involve solid solution formation of PuO{sub 2} With uranium oxide (UO{sub 2}) and alloying incinerator ash with aluminum. An oxidative dissolution process involving nitric acid solutions containing a strong oxidizing agent, such as cerium (IV), was neither proven nor rejected. This uncertainty was due to difficulty in regenerating cerium (IV) ions during dissolution. However, recent work on silver-catalyzed dissolution of PuO{sub 2} with persulfate has demonstrated that persulfate ions regenerate silver (II). Use of persulfate to regenerate cerium (IV) or bismuth (V) ions during dissolution of PuO{sub 2} materials may warrant further study.