Activity and ionic impurity specifications are presented for Thorex thorium nitrate products. Two sets of specifications are given, one set for direct handling during refabrication of production reactor thorium metal slugs and the second for refabrication of future power reactor thorium metal elements by semi-remote technics. Consideration was given to the health hazard problems associated with each process step between the Thorex process and final refabricated source material in order to arrive at these specifications.

A new gas-liquid countercurrent system (the ANCO system from Anisole-Complex) for the enrichment of boron isotopes has been developed. It is believed that use of this systems will result in a considerably lower unit cost for enriched boron-10 than was previously possible. The system utilizes the exchange reaction between BF3 (gas) and BF3·anisole (liquid) to concentrate boron-10 in the liquid phase. The single stage isotopic separation factor for this system has been found to vary from 1.039 at 0°C to 1.029 at 30°C. The isotopic exchange reaction has been shown to be rapid. Vapor pressures of the complex as a function of temperature have been measured and the heat of formation of the complex determined. Laboratory experiments show that quantitative removal of the BF3 from the complex can be accomplished by heating. A complete miniature ANCO plant was constructed and operated in the laboratory to test the feasibility of the system. The system was found to operate efficiently with a minimum of attention, and to enrich the isotopes of boron as expected. Based upon the experience obtained with the laboratory ANCO unit, a pilot plant large enough to utilize a 6-inch diameter exchange column was designed. The design calculations of …

Thorium, a fertile material, is of interest to the Reactor Program in the production of U233. Thorium can be extracted and processed to a very pure bulk metal for fabrication into solid fertile elements. There are advantages, technical and economic, for using fabricated bulk thorium dioxide rather than the metal in some applications. It is the purpose of this paper to point out these advantages and to present briefly the technology related to fabrication, radiation damage and chemical processing of ThO2.

Electrodialysis in an ion-exchange membrane cell was shown to be technically feasible for the concentration of an azeotropic mixture of HF and water. A flowsheet is presented for recovery of anhydrous HF by distillation and electrodialysis of the azeotropic residue. In the electrodialysis step, 2.6 kwhr of energy per pound of anhydrous product was consumed, with electricity at 1¢ per kilowatt-hour, the total operating cost of the electrodialysis equipment alone, including amortization, would be 6¢ per pound of HF.