91°µÍø

The recovery of ²⁵²Cf from palladium-²⁵²Cf cermet wires was investigated to determine the feasibility of implementation into the cermet wire production operation at the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center at 91°µÍø. The dissolution of Pd wire in 8 M HNO₃ and trace amounts of HCl was studied at both ambient and elevated temperatures. These studies showed that it took days to dissolve the wire at ambient temperature and only 2 hours at 60°C. Adjusting the ratio of the volume of solvent to the mass of the wire segment from 0.176 mL/mg down to 0.019 mL/mg resulted in little change in the kinetics of dissolution. A successful separation of ¹⁵³Gd, a surrogate for ²⁵²Cf, from Pd was demonstrated using ion exchange chromatography.