Studies on the Behavior of Several Elements in the Fused Bismuth-Fused Salts System, (III)

Distribution of polonium between fused bismuth and fused LiCl·KCl (eutectic) was investigated at 550°C in argon atmosphere.Twenty grams of pure salt were added to 20 g of the fused bismuth containing a trace amount of polonium. After the salt was contacted with bismuth for 37hr at 550°C, small amount of each layer was sampled and partition coefficient of polonium [K=concentration in salt (cpm/g)/concentration in bismuth (cpm/g)] was determined. K value of polonium was 0.098. The effect of temperature on the K value was not observed for 400°565°C.About 97% of polonium were removed from bismuth layer at 350°530°C for 3hr. This result suggested that the distillation of polonium with fused salt was useful as the separation method of polonium from bismuth.