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How is plutonium-239 extracted, i.e., what is plutonium reprocessing?

April 26, 2017Plutonium plutonium-239 reprocessing

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How is plutonium-239 extracted, i.e., what is plutonium reprocessing?

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Plutonium-239 is chemically separated from spent reactor fuel by removing spent fuel rods from a nuclear reactor, chopping them up, and then dissolving them in nitric acid. The resulting liquid is further separated into plutonium, uranium, and radioactive waste. (For more information, see Federation of American Scientists, “Plutonium Production,” http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/plutonium.