METHOD FOR SEPARATING AMERICIUM FROM AMERICIUM, CURIUM, AND RARE-EARTH ELEMENT MIXTURE Russian patent published in 2007 - IPC G21F9/06 

FIELD: radiochemistry; producing pure americium in preparative chemistry.

SUBSTANCE: proposed method for americium separation enabling 5- to 10-fold effective cleaning of americium from curium and about two-fold reduction of americium loss with washing solutions includes multiple precipitation of americium (III), curium (III), and rare-earth metal oxalates, dissolution of oxalates in potassium carbonate solution, oxidation of americium (III) to americium (V) involving precipitation of double carbonate of americium (V) with potassium, and sediment washing with potassium carbonate solution including additional washing of sediment with alkali metal nitrate solutions and sediment treatment with excess oxalic acid.

EFFECT: enhanced efficiency of americium cleaning from corium within one process cycle, reduced loss of americium with washing solutions, reduced total time of process (approximately by two times).

1 cl