Advanced Studies on Plutonium for Pu Isotope Transmutation and Pu Separation

In this paper, I discuss and present the advanced experiments methods for thermochemical properties of plutonium in liquid gallium at 1073 k, application to plutonium cerium separation and the theoretical studies on Pu isotope transmutation. Electrochemical investigations on plutonium diluted in liquid gallium using molten chlorides showed that gallium can be used as solvent metal for pyrochemical processes involving plutonium at 1073 k. In particular, a selective extraction of plutonium from gallium by anodic oxidation is thermodynamically possible. The deposition of plutonium on a liquid gallium cathode is also possible with CaCl 2 as molten salt with a careful control of cathode potential.