The recovery of beryllium from beryllium oxide matrix fuels through its oxyacetate

Abstract

The laboratory development of a process for the recovery and decontamination of beryllium from fuel processing solutions is described. Azeotropic distillation is used in converting aqueous beryllium solutions to beryllium oxyacetate. The beryllium oxyacetate is then purified by recrystallization. Using a feed solution containing 3 β curies of fission products per mole of beryllium, a decontamination factor of 3 to 4 x 103 can be obtained with a 90 per cent, recovery of beryllium. Some solubility and conductance data are given for beryllium oxyacetate and its hydrolysis products. The hydrolysis reaction is briefly discussed.