• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2006

The spectroscopic characteristics of Pu (III, IV, V, VI) in the HCl media were investigated by measuring Pu oxidation states using a UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer (400-1200 nm) after adjusting Pu oxidation states with oxidation/reduction reagents. Pu in stock solution was reduced to Pu(III) with $NH_2OH$ HCl, and oxidized to Pu(IV) and Pu(VI) with $NaNO_2$ and $HClO_4$, respectively. Also, Pu(V) was adjusted in the Pu(VI) solution with $NH_2OH$ HCl. The major absorption peaks of Pu (IV) and Pu(III) were measured in the 470 m and 600 nm, respectively. The major absorption peaks of Pu (VI) and Pu(V) were measured in the 830 nm and 1135 nm, respectively. There was not found to be significant changes of UV-Vis absorption spectra for Pu(III), Pu(IV) and Pu(VI) with aging time, except that an unstable Pu(V) immediately reduced to Pu(III).

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.172-176
• /
• 1998

Epoxy adduct carboxyl terminated butadiene acrylonitrile(CTBN) was prepared by blending of CTBN and epoxy resin. CTBN/PU/epoxy was prepared from polyurethane(PU), epoxy resin, and CTBN. The CTBN/PU/epoxy using 5 wt% of CTBN content showed shifting damping peak as PU content increased. It suggested that CTBN/PU/epoxy had good compatibility for all composition at 5 wt% of CTBN content. But miscibility of CTBN/PU/epoxy decreased with the increase of the CTBN content. PU content for maximum flexural properties of CTBN/PU/epoxy was 10 wt%, but decreased with the increase of the PU content. The fracture toughness of CTBN/epoxy was improved by addition of the PU. Fracture surfaces of CTBN/PU/epoxy showed the shear deformation and generation of stress whitening which is associated with the cavitation. Cavitation in the CTBN and shear defomation in the PU modified epoxy matrix are the toughening mechanisms for CTBN/PU/epoxy.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.55-64
• /
• 2023

There is a gap in our understanding of the behavior of fused and molten fuel salts containing unavoidable contamination, such as those due to fabrication, handling, or storage. Therefore, this work used calorimetry to investigate the change in liquidus temperature of PuCl₃, having an unknown purity and that had been in storage for several decades. Further research was performed by additions of NaCl, making several compositions within the binary system, and summarizing the resulting changes, if any, to the phase diagram. The melting temperature of the PuCl₃ was determined to be 746.5℃, approximately 20℃ lower than literature reported values, most likely due to an excess of Pu metal in the PuCl₃ either due to the presence of metallic plutonium remaining from incomplete chlorination or due to the solubility of Pu in PuCl₃. From the melting temperature, it was determined that the PuCl₃ contained between 5.9 to 6.2mol% Pu metal. Analysis of the NaCl-PuCl₃ samples showed that using the Pu rich PuCl₃ resulted in significant changes to the NaCl-PuCl₃ phase diagram. Most notably an unreported phase transition occurring at approximately 406℃ and a new eutectic composition of 52.7mol% NaCl-38.7mol% PuCl₃-2.5mol% Pu which melted at 449.3℃. Additionally, an increase in the liquidus temperatures was seen for NaCl rich compositions while lower liquidus temperatures were seen for PuCl₃ rich compositions. It can therefore be concluded that changes will occur in the NaCl-PuCl₃ binary system when using PuCl₃ with excess Pu metal. However, melting temperature analysis can provide valuable insight into the composition of the PuCl₃ and therefore the NaCl-PuCl₃ system.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.103-108
• /
• 2007

The absorption spectra of Pu in stock solution were measured using a UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer after dissolving $PuO_2\;with\;HNO_3$, HF and $HClO_4$. The spectroscopic characteristics of Pu (III, IV, VI) in acidic, neutral and alkali media were investigated. Also, the intensities and position of major peaks for Pu(VI) were observed with increasing acidic and alkali concentration. The variation of oxidation states of Pu(VI) with an adding reducing reactant was investigated in HCl and NaOH medium.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.18-30
• /
• 2006

This paper describes the cumulative deposition of fallout Pu in soil and lichen at the present time and give the characteristics of fallout Pu deposits in the soil. In the soil of the forest, the accumulated depositions of $^{239,240}Pu$ were estimated to be in the range of 34.0 to $101.2Bq\;m^{-2}$ with an average value of $65.3{\pm}21.6Bq\;m^{-2}$. The average inventory of $^{239,240}Pu$ in the forest was calculated to be two times higher than that in the hill. Also, the deposited activities of $^{239,240}Pu$ in cultivated soil were significantly lower than those in the hill or forest. However, the cumulative depositions of fallout Pu in the volcanic ash soil on Cheju Island were much higher than those in the forest and hill soils. The measured activity concentrations of Pu isotopes in lichens and mosses showed large variations, due to characteristics of species and life span of lichen and moss colonies. From depth profiles, it was found that most of the fallout Pu has been accumulated in upper 10 cm layer of soil. Except for a few cases, the concentrations of $^{239,240}Pu$ in soil tended to decrease exponentially with increasing soil depth. Among parameters affecting the cumulative deposition of fallout Pu, organic substances and rainfall play an important role in the retention and relative mobility of fallout Pu in the soil. However, pH showed a weak correlation with the deposition of fallout Pu in the soil. From sequential leaching experiments, Pu was found to be associated predominantly with the "organic" and "oxy-hydroxy" fractions. Both the activity ratios of $^{238}Pu/^{239,240}Pu$ and $^{241}Pu/^{239,240}Pu$ in soils, lichens and mosses and the atomic ratios of $^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$ in soils are close to those observed in the cumulative deposit global fallout from nuclear weapon testings. The results obtained from this research make it possible to interpret and predict the behavior of fallout Pu under natural conditions.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2006

In this study, conventional biofilters packed with flexible synthetic polyurethane (PU) foam carriers were operated to remove toluene from a contaminated air stream. PU foams containing various adsorbents (e.g., zeolite, sepiolite, dolomite and barite) were synthesized for the biofilter media and their adsorption characteristics of toluene were determined. Adsorption capacity of PU-adsorbent foam was in the order of PU-dolomite ${\approx}$ PU-zeolite > PU-sepiolite > PU-barite. During the biofiltration experiment, influent toluene concentration was in the range of 0-160 ppm and EBRT (i.e., empty bed residence time) was 45 seconds. Pressure drop of the biofilter bed was 4-5 mm $H_2O/m$ column height. The maximum removal capacity was in the order of PU-dolomite > PU-zeolite > PU-sepiolite > PU-barite, while the complete removal capacity was in the order of PU-dolomite > PU-sepiolite > PU-zeolite > PU-barite. The better biofiltration performance in PU-dolomite foam was because PU-dolomite foam had lower density and higher porosity than the others providing favorable conditions for microbial growth. The results of biodegradation kinetic analysis showed that PU-dolomite foam had higher maximum removal rate ($V_m\;=\;11.04\;g$ toluene/kg dry material/day) and saturation constant ($K_s\;=\;26.57\;ppm$) than the other PU foams. This supports that PU-dolomite foam was better than the others for biofilteration of toluene.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.117-123
• /
• 2010

Plutonium is by far the most important of the transuranic elements which have been released into the environment due to radio-toxicity and long term radiation effects on humans. And Pu isotope ratio ($^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$) is of great interest because this ratio is used as a fingerprint for different sources. Mass spectrometry has been used as an useful atom counting technique with several advantages over decay counting techniques for the determination of Pu isotopes. It enables a determination of Pu isotope ratio in the environmental samples with a low detection limit and a short determination time. An ICP-MS is the representative mass spectrometry for Pu determination. In this study, the precision of $^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$ isotope ratio was improved by using 4 multiple ion counters of MC-ICP-MS. The detection limit of $^{239}Pu$ and $^{240}Pu$ were $0.10\;fg\;ml^{-1}$ ($0.24\;{\mu}Bq\;ml^{-1}$), $0.12\;fg\;ml^{-1}$ ($0.97\;{\mu}Bq\;ml^{-1}$), respectively. The relative standard deviation of $^{240}Pu/^{239}Pu$ isotope ratio was less than 1 % in trace level. The various reference materials (seawater, soil and sediment) were analyzed to verify this method and their analytical results were in good agreement with the certified (or recommended value) value.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.514-519
• /
• 2004

Soil samples collected from around the BOMARC Missile Site were measured for their activity concentrations and isotopic ratios of Pu and Am isotopes with particle sizes. The activity concentrations of Pu and Am in the BOMARC soil were remarkably higher than the fallout levels, and the activities decreased nearly exponentially with an increasing particle size of the soil due to a decreasing surface area. The activity ratios of Pu-238 / Pu-239, 240, Pu-241 / Pu-239, 240 and Am-241 / Pu-239, 240 observed in the BOMARC soil were much lower than those attributed to the nuclear reprocess plants and the Chernobyl fallout. Also, the atomic ratio of Pu-240 / Pu-239 in the BOMARC soil was remarkably lower than the fallout value influenced by the nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident. The atomic ratio of Pu-240 / Pu-239 was so close to the value of the weapons grade Pu released from the crash of a B52 plane in the Thule of the Greenland, such that the Pu isotopes detected in the BOMARC soil could have originated from the weapons grade plutonium.

• Fibers and Polymers
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.49-53
• /
• 2003

Polyurethane (PU) layer and copolymer consisted of the different molecular weights (1000 and 2000 g/mol) of poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) were prepared. The damping and mechanical properties of these materials were compared with PU 1000 made by PPG having the molecular weight of 1000 g/mol. The optimum composition of PU2000 used for PU layer and copolymer was diphenylmethane diioscynate (MDI)/propylene glycol (PPG)/butanediol (BD) (1/0.3/0.7) based on the damping and mechanical properties. The damping peak of PU copolymer was higher than those of PU layer and PUI 1000 in low temperature range (-30- $10^{\circ}C$). For application in noise reduction, the transmission loss of the mechanical vibration through solid structure was measured. PU layer and copolymer were used as a damping layer. The transmission loss of PU copolymer was more effective than those of PU layer and PU 1000 in the experimental frequency range.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.139-144
• /
• 1981

Plutionum, neptunium, and uranium isotopes which were produced in the interaction of $^{136}$ Xe and $^{244}$ Pu are separated and determined their cross sections. The cross sections are: $\sigma$($^{245}$ Pu)=66 mb, $\sigma$($^{243}$ Pu)=57 mb, $\sigma$($^{246}$ Pu)=6.0 mb, $\sigma$($^{239}$ Np)=15 mb, $\sigma$($^{240}$ U)=12 mb, $\sigma$($^{245}$ U)=6.4 mb respectively.