Comparison of Commercially Available Anion Exchange Resins for Plutonium Solution Purification

Four commercially available resins, Bio-Rad AG® MP-1 M, Lewatit® MonoPlus MP 500, Reillex™ 425, and Reillex™ HP were examined alongside Reillex™ HPQ, which is no longer commercially available at the time of this publication, for their ability to remove Pu(IV) from HNO3 solutions. Batch Pu(IV) distribution ratios (Kd) of the five resins were measured in 0.35 M, 3.0 M, and 8.0 M HNO3 after a 24-h contact period. Lewatit® MonoPlus MP 500, Reillex™ HP, and Reillex™ HPQ exhibited high uptake of the analyte at 8.0 M HNO3. AG® MP-1 M had a Kd > 102 in the 0.35 M HNO3 solution. The Reillex™ resins demonstrate no detectable uptake at 0.35 M HNO3, while Lewatit® MonoPlus MP 500 exhibits low uptake (Kd ca. 101) under the same conditions. Distribution ratios in 8.0 M HNO3 for Lewatit® MonoPlus MP 500, Reillex™ HP, and Reillex™ HPQ were further determined after 1-h of contact. Lewatit® MonoPlus MP 500 and Reillex™ HP had similar distribution ratios under these conditions. Finally, Reillex™ HP was directly compared against Reillex™ HPQ to determine Pu(IV) capacity. The capacity of Reillex™ HP for Pu(IV) was found to be approximately 84% of the capacity of Reillex™ HPQ, 84–87 and 101–103 g Pu/L resin, respectively.