CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>PUREX - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"1e716edc-39c3-4fcc-85be-cf94fc67e751","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"PUREX","wgTitle":"PUREX","wgCurRevisionId":1281046356,"wgRevisionId":1281046356,"wgArticleId":1859146,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description is different from Wikidata","Webarchive template wayback links","Radioactive waste","Waste treatment technology","Nuclear chemistry","Nuclear reprocessing","Plutonium","Uranium"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"PUREX","wgRelevantArticleId":1859146,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":10000,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q386477","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false}; RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.21"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg/1200px-Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1353"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg/800px-Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="902"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg/640px-Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="721"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="PUREX - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-PUREX rootpage-PUREX skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" title="Main menu" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="n-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages"><span>Special pages</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=PUREX" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=PUREX" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=PUREX" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=PUREX" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Chemical_process" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Chemical_process"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Chemical process</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Chemical_process-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-PUREX_raffinate" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#PUREX_raffinate"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>PUREX raffinate</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-PUREX_raffinate-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Pollution" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Pollution"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Pollution</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Pollution-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-History" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#History"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>History</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-History-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-List_of_nuclear_reprocessing_sites" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#List_of_nuclear_reprocessing_sites"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>List of nuclear reprocessing sites</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-List_of_nuclear_reprocessing_sites-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References_and_notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References_and_notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>References and notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References_and_notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">PUREX</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 13 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-13" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">13 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B5_%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A_%D9%84%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85_%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85" title="استخلاص اختزالي لليورانيوم والبلوتونيوم – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="استخلاص اختزالي لليورانيوم والبلوتونيوم" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX-Prozess" title="PUREX-Prozess – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="PUREX-Prozess" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pureks-procedo" title="Pureks-procedo – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Pureks-procedo" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C_%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%B4%DB%8C_%D9%BE%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86%DB%8C%D9%88%D9%85_%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C%D9%88%D9%85" title="جداسازی اکسایشی-کاهشی پلوتونیوم و اورانیوم – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="جداسازی اکسایشی-کاهشی پلوتونیوم و اورانیوم" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX" title="PUREX – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="PUREX" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX" title="PUREX – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="PUREX" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX" title="PUREX – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="PUREX" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX%E6%B3%95" title="PUREX法 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="PUREX法" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX" title="PUREX – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="PUREX" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%8C%D1%8E%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%86%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%81" title="Пьюрекс-процесс – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Пьюрекс-процесс" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purexmetoden" title="Purexmetoden – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Purexmetoden" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX" title="PUREX – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="PUREX" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%8E%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%86%D0%B5%D1%81" title="Пюрекс-процес – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Пюрекс-процес" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q386477#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/PUREX" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:PUREX" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/PUREX"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/PUREX"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/PUREX" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/PUREX" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&oldid=1281046356" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=PUREX&id=1281046356&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPUREX"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPUREX"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=PUREX&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q386477" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Spent fuel reprocessing process for plutonium and uranium recovery</div><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Purex_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Purex (disambiguation)">Purex (disambiguation)</a>.</div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Pyrex" title="Pyrex">Pyrex</a>.</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg/240px-Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg.png" decoding="async" width="240" height="271" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg/360px-Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg/480px-Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1565" data-file-height="1764" /></a><figcaption>Reprocessing of <a href="/wiki/Spent_nuclear_fuel" title="Spent nuclear fuel">spent nuclear fuel</a> by the PUREX method, first developed in the 1940s to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons,<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> was demonstrated commercially in Belgium to partially re-fuel a LWR in the 1960s.<sup id="cite_ref-EuroNuclear_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EuroNuclear-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This aqueous chemical process continues to be used commercially to separate <a href="/wiki/Reactor_grade_plutonium" class="mw-redirect" title="Reactor grade plutonium">reactor grade plutonium</a> (RGPu) for reuse as MOX fuel. It remains controversial, as plutonium can be used to make nuclear weapons.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ifr_concept.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Ifr_concept.jpg/290px-Ifr_concept.jpg" decoding="async" width="290" height="217" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Ifr_concept.jpg/435px-Ifr_concept.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Ifr_concept.jpg/580px-Ifr_concept.jpg 2x" data-file-width="703" data-file-height="525" /></a><figcaption>The most developed, though commercially unfielded, alternative reprocessing method, is <a href="/wiki/Pyroprocessing" title="Pyroprocessing">Pyroprocessing</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> suggested as part of the depicted metallic-fueled, <a href="/wiki/Integral_fast_reactor" title="Integral fast reactor">Integral fast reactor</a> (IFR) a <a href="/wiki/Sodium_fast_reactor" class="mw-redirect" title="Sodium fast reactor">sodium fast reactor</a> concept of the 1990s. After the spent fuel is dissolved in molten salt, all of the recyclable <a href="/wiki/Actinides" class="mw-redirect" title="Actinides">actinides</a>, consisting largely of plutonium and uranium though with important minor constituents, are extracted using electrorefining/<a href="/wiki/Electrowinning" title="Electrowinning">electrowinning</a>. The resulting mixture keeps the plutonium at all times in an unseparated <a href="/wiki/MOX_fuel#Americium_content" title="MOX fuel">gamma and alpha emitting actinide</a> form, that is also mildly self-protecting in theft scenarios.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p><b>PUREX</b> (<b>plutonium uranium reduction extraction</b>) is a <a href="/wiki/Chemistry" title="Chemistry">chemical</a> method used to purify fuel for <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_reactor" title="Nuclear reactor">nuclear reactors</a> or <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_weapons" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear weapons">nuclear weapons</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is based on <a href="/wiki/Liquid%E2%80%93liquid_extraction" title="Liquid–liquid extraction">liquid–liquid extraction</a> <a href="/wiki/Ion-exchange" class="mw-redirect" title="Ion-exchange">ion-exchange</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> PUREX is the <i><a href="/wiki/De_facto" title="De facto">de facto</a></i> standard aqueous <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_reprocessing" title="Nuclear reprocessing">nuclear reprocessing</a> method for the recovery of <a href="/wiki/Uranium" title="Uranium">uranium</a> and <a href="/wiki/Plutonium" title="Plutonium">plutonium</a> from used <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_fuel" title="Nuclear fuel">nuclear fuel</a> (<a href="/wiki/Spent_nuclear_fuel" title="Spent nuclear fuel">spent nuclear fuel</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Irradiated" class="mw-redirect" title="Irradiated">irradiated</a> nuclear fuel). It is also the standard process used in industrial scale operations.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>PUREX is applied to <a href="/wiki/Spent_nuclear_fuel" title="Spent nuclear fuel">spent nuclear fuel</a>, which consists primarily of very high <a href="/wiki/Atomic_weight" class="mw-redirect" title="Atomic weight">atomic-weight</a> (<a href="/wiki/Actinoid" class="mw-redirect" title="Actinoid">actinoid</a> or "actinide") <a href="/wiki/Chemical_element" title="Chemical element">elements</a> (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Uranium" title="Uranium">uranium</a>, <a href="/wiki/Plutonium" title="Plutonium">plutonium</a>, <a href="/wiki/Americium" title="Americium">americium</a>) along with smaller amounts of material composed of lighter atoms, notably the <a href="/wiki/Fission_products" class="mw-redirect" title="Fission products">fission products</a> produced by reactor operation. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Uranium_Reprocessing.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Uranium_Reprocessing.jpg/220px-Uranium_Reprocessing.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="290" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Uranium_Reprocessing.jpg/330px-Uranium_Reprocessing.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Uranium_Reprocessing.jpg/440px-Uranium_Reprocessing.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2379" data-file-height="3134" /></a><figcaption>A simplified plutonium extraction flow chart.</figcaption></figure> <p>The actinoid elements in this case consist primarily of the unconsumed remains of the original fuel (typically <a href="/wiki/U-235" class="mw-redirect" title="U-235">U-235</a>, <a href="/wiki/Uranium-238" title="Uranium-238">U-238</a>, and/or <a href="/wiki/Pu-239" class="mw-redirect" title="Pu-239">Pu-239</a>). </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Chemical_process">Chemical process</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Chemical process"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:UO2(NO3)2(OP(OR)3)2.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/UO2%28NO3%292%28OP%28OR%293%292.svg/144px-UO2%28NO3%292%28OP%28OR%293%292.svg.png" decoding="async" width="144" height="103" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/UO2%28NO3%292%28OP%28OR%293%292.svg/216px-UO2%28NO3%292%28OP%28OR%293%292.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/UO2%28NO3%292%28OP%28OR%293%292.svg/288px-UO2%28NO3%292%28OP%28OR%293%292.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="140" data-file-height="100" /></a><figcaption>Structure of uranyl nitrate complex that is extracted in PUREX.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p>The fuel is first dissolved in <a href="/wiki/Nitric_acid" title="Nitric acid">nitric acid</a> at a concentration around 7 <a href="/wiki/Molar_concentration#Units" title="Molar concentration">M</a>. Solids are removed by filtration to avoid the formation of <a href="/wiki/Emulsion" title="Emulsion">emulsions</a>, referred to as <a href="/wiki/Third_phase" title="Third phase">third phases</a> in the solvent extraction community. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Organic_solvent" class="mw-redirect" title="Organic solvent">organic solvent</a> consists of 30% <a href="/wiki/Tributyl_phosphate" title="Tributyl phosphate">tributyl phosphate</a> (TBP) in a <a href="/wiki/Hydrocarbon" title="Hydrocarbon">hydrocarbon</a> such as <a href="/wiki/Kerosene" title="Kerosene">kerosene</a>. Uranyl(VI) <span class="chemf nowrap">UO<span class="nowrap"><span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1em;font-size:80%;text-align:left"><sup style="font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">2+</sup><br /><sub style="font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">2</sub></span></span></span> ions are extracted in the organic phase as UO<sub>2</sub>(NO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>·2TBP complexes; plutonium is extracted as similar <a href="/wiki/Coordination_complex" title="Coordination complex">complexes</a>. The heavier actinides, primarily <a href="/wiki/Americium" title="Americium">americium</a> and <a href="/wiki/Curium" title="Curium">curium</a>, and the fission products remain in the aqueous phase. The nature of uranyl nitrate complexes with trialkyl phosphates has been characterized.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Plutonium is separated from uranium by treating the TBP-kerosene solution with reducing agents to convert the plutonium to its +3 oxidation state, which will pass into the aqueous phase. Typical reducing agents include N,N-diethyl-<a href="/wiki/Hydroxylamine" title="Hydroxylamine">hydroxylamine</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ferrous" title="Ferrous">ferrous</a> <a href="/wiki/Sulphamic_acid" class="mw-redirect" title="Sulphamic acid">sulphamate</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Hydrazine" title="Hydrazine">hydrazine</a>. Uranium is then stripped from the kerosene solution by back-extraction into nitric acid at a concentration around 0.2 M.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="PUREX_raffinate">PUREX raffinate</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: PUREX raffinate"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The term <i>PUREX <a href="/wiki/Raffinate" title="Raffinate">raffinate</a></i> describes the mixture of metals in <a href="/wiki/Nitric_acid" title="Nitric acid">nitric acid</a> which are left behind when the <a href="/wiki/Uranium" title="Uranium">uranium</a> and <a href="/wiki/Plutonium" title="Plutonium">plutonium</a> have been removed by the PUREX process from a <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_fuel" title="Nuclear fuel">nuclear fuel</a> dissolution liquor. This mixture is often known as high level <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_waste" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear waste">nuclear waste</a>. </p><p>Two PUREX raffinates exist. The most highly active <a href="/wiki/Raffinate" title="Raffinate">raffinate</a> from the first cycle is the one which is most commonly known as PUREX raffinate. The other is from the medium-active cycle in which the uranium and plutonium are refined by a second <a href="/wiki/Solvent_extraction" class="mw-redirect" title="Solvent extraction">extraction</a> with <a href="/wiki/Tributyl_phosphate" title="Tributyl phosphate">tributyl phosphate</a>. </p> <figure class="mw-halign-center" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Purexraffinatecomp.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Purexraffinatecomp.png/960px-Purexraffinatecomp.png" decoding="async" width="750" height="458" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Purexraffinatecomp.png 1.5x" data-file-width="979" data-file-height="598" /></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <p>Deep blue is the bulk ions, light blue is the <a href="/wiki/Fission_products" class="mw-redirect" title="Fission products">fission products</a> (group I is Rb/Cs) (group II is Sr/Ba) (group III is Y and the <a href="/wiki/Lanthanides" class="mw-redirect" title="Lanthanides">lanthanides</a>), orange is the <a href="/wiki/Corrosion" title="Corrosion">corrosion</a> products (from stainless steel pipework), green are the major actinides, violet are the <a href="/wiki/Minor_actinides" class="mw-redirect" title="Minor actinides">minor actinides</a> and magenta is the <a href="/wiki/Neutron_poison" title="Neutron poison">neutron poison</a>) </p><p>Currently PUREX raffinate is stored in <a href="/wiki/Stainless_steel" title="Stainless steel">stainless steel</a> tanks before being <a href="/wiki/Geomelting" title="Geomelting">converted into glass</a>. The first cycle PUREX raffinate is very <a href="/wiki/Radioactive" class="mw-redirect" title="Radioactive">radioactive</a>. It has almost all of the <a href="/wiki/Fission_products" class="mw-redirect" title="Fission products">fission products</a>, <a href="/wiki/Corrosion" title="Corrosion">corrosion</a> products such as <a href="/wiki/Iron" title="Iron">iron</a>/<a href="/wiki/Nickel" title="Nickel">nickel</a>, traces of uranium, plutonium and the <a href="/wiki/Minor_actinides" class="mw-redirect" title="Minor actinides">minor actinides</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Pollution">Pollution</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Pollution"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Waste from the commercial PUREX process include acidic aqueous raffinate with high levels of radioactive materials (HLLW) as well as high volumes of lower-level waste streams and degraded organic solvents.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The PUREX plant at the <a href="/wiki/Hanford_Site" title="Hanford Site">Hanford Site</a> was responsible for producing 'copious volumes of liquid wastes', resulting in the radioactive contamination of groundwater.<sup id="cite_ref-Gerber2001_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gerber2001-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Greenpeace" title="Greenpeace">Greenpeace</a> measurements in <a href="/wiki/La_Hague_site" title="La Hague site">La Hague</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sellafield" title="Sellafield">Sellafield</a> indicated that radioactive pollutants are steadily released into the sea, and the air. Therefore, people living near these processing plants are exposed to higher radiation levels than the naturally occurring <a href="/wiki/Background_radiation" title="Background radiation">background radiation</a>. According to <a href="/wiki/Greenpeace" title="Greenpeace">Greenpeace</a>, this additional radiation is small but not negligible.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The PUREX process was invented by <a href="/wiki/Herbert_H._Anderson" title="Herbert H. Anderson">Herbert H. Anderson</a> and <a href="/wiki/Larned_B._Asprey" title="Larned B. Asprey">Larned B. Asprey</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Metallurgical_Laboratory" title="Metallurgical Laboratory">Metallurgical Laboratory</a> at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Chicago" title="University of Chicago">University of Chicago</a>, as part of the <a href="/wiki/Manhattan_Project" title="Manhattan Project">Manhattan Project</a> under <a href="/wiki/Glenn_T._Seaborg" title="Glenn T. Seaborg">Glenn T. Seaborg</a>; their patent "Solvent Extraction Process for Plutonium" filed in 1947,<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> mentions <a href="/wiki/Tributyl_phosphate" title="Tributyl phosphate">tributyl phosphate</a> as the major reactant which accomplishes the bulk of the chemical extraction.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="List_of_nuclear_reprocessing_sites">List of nuclear reprocessing sites</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: List of nuclear reprocessing sites"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/La_Hague_site" title="La Hague site">La Hague site</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mayak" title="Mayak">Mayak</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thermal_Oxide_Reprocessing_Plant" title="Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant">Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant</a> and <a href="/wiki/B205" class="mw-redirect" title="B205">B205</a> at <a href="/wiki/Sellafield" title="Sellafield">Sellafield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tokaimura_nuclear_accident" class="mw-redirect" title="Tokaimura nuclear accident">Tokai, Ibaraki</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Valley_Reprocessing_Plant" class="mw-redirect" title="West Valley Reprocessing Plant">West Valley Reprocessing Plant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Savannah_River_Site" title="Savannah River Site">Savannah River Site</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hanford_Site" title="Hanford Site">Hanford Site</a></li> <li>Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, (now <a href="/wiki/Idaho_National_Laboratory" title="Idaho National Laboratory">Idaho National Laboratory</a>)</li> <li>Radiochemical Engineering Development Center, <a href="/wiki/Oak_Ridge_National_Laboratory" title="Oak Ridge National Laboratory">Oak Ridge National Laboratory</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nuclear_fuel_cycle" title="Nuclear fuel cycle">Nuclear fuel cycle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nuclear_breeder_reactor" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear breeder reactor">Nuclear breeder reactor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spent_nuclear_fuel_shipping_cask" class="mw-redirect" title="Spent nuclear fuel shipping cask">Spent nuclear fuel shipping cask</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Global_Nuclear_Energy_Partnership" class="mw-redirect" title="Global Nuclear Energy Partnership">Global Nuclear Energy Partnership</a> announced February, 2006</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References_and_notes">References and notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References and notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Greenwood, pp. 1255, 1261</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-EuroNuclear-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-EuroNuclear_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150622040852/http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/r/reprocessing-plants-ww.htm">"Reprocessing plants, world-wide"</a>. <a href="/wiki/European_Nuclear_Society" title="European Nuclear Society">European Nuclear Society</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/r/reprocessing-plants-ww.htm">the original</a> on 22 June 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">29 July</span> 2008</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Reprocessing+plants%2C+world-wide&rft.pub=European+Nuclear+Society&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronuclear.org%2Finfo%2Fencyclopedia%2Fr%2Freprocessing-plants-ww.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/BlueRibbonCommFinRprtNov2004.pdf">An Evaluation of the Proliferation Resistant Characteristics of Light Water Reactor Fuel with the Potential for Recycle in the United States</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2005_09/Fetter-VonHippel">Is U.S. Reprocessing Worth The Risk?</a>, Steve Fetter and Frank N. von Hippel, Arms Control Today, September 1, 2005.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFL.C._Walters1998" class="citation journal cs1">L.C. Walters (September 18, 1998). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://zenodo.org/record/1259635">"Thirty years of fuels and materials information from EBR-II"</a>. <i>Journal of Nuclear Materials</i>. <b>270</b> (1): <span class="nowrap">39–</span>48. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999JNuM..270...39W">1999JNuM..270...39W</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0022-3115%2898%2900760-0">10.1016/S0022-3115(98)00760-0</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Nuclear+Materials&rft.atitle=Thirty+years+of+fuels+and+materials+information+from+EBR-II&rft.volume=270&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E39-%3C%2Fspan%3E48&rft.date=1998-09-18&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2FS0022-3115%2898%2900760-0&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1999JNuM..270...39W&rft.au=L.C.+Walters&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fzenodo.org%2Frecord%2F1259635&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/2004/july/hannum.html">[1]</a> PUREX and PYRO are not the same, Hannum, Marsh, Stanford.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGregory_ChoppinJan-Olov_LiljenzinJan_Rydberg2002" class="citation book cs1">Gregory Choppin; <a href="/wiki/Jan-Olov_Liljenzin" title="Jan-Olov Liljenzin">Jan-Olov Liljenzin</a>; Jan Rydberg (2002). <i>Radiochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry, Third Edition</i>. p. 610. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7506-7463-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7506-7463-8"><bdi>978-0-7506-7463-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Radiochemistry+and+Nuclear+Chemistry%2C+Third+Edition&rft.pages=610&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=978-0-7506-7463-8&rft.au=Gregory+Choppin&rft.au=Jan-Olov+Liljenzin&rft.au=Jan+Rydberg&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFPaiva,_A._P.Malik,_P.2004" class="citation journal cs1">Paiva, A. P.; Malik, P. (2004). "Recent advances on the chemistry of solvent extraction applied to the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels and radioactive wastes". <i>Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry</i>. <b>261</b> (2): <span class="nowrap">485–</span>496. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004JRNC..261..485P">2004JRNC..261..485P</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1023%2FB%3AJRNC.0000034890.23325.b5">10.1023/B:JRNC.0000034890.23325.b5</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:94173845">94173845</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Radioanalytical+and+Nuclear+Chemistry&rft.atitle=Recent+advances+on+the+chemistry+of+solvent+extraction+applied+to+the+reprocessing+of+spent+nuclear+fuels+and+radioactive+wastes&rft.volume=261&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E485-%3C%2Fspan%3E496&rft.date=2004&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A94173845%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1023%2FB%3AJRNC.0000034890.23325.b5&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2004JRNC..261..485P&rft.au=Paiva%2C+A.+P.&rft.au=Malik%2C+P.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGoldemberg2009" class="citation book cs1">Goldemberg, Jose’ (2009). <i>Interactions: Energy / Environment</i>. Oxford: EOLSS Publications. p. 227. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84826-540-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-84826-540-0"><bdi>978-1-84826-540-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Interactions%3A+Energy+%2F+Environment&rft.place=Oxford&rft.pages=227&rft.pub=EOLSS+Publications&rft.date=2009&rft.isbn=978-1-84826-540-0&rft.aulast=Goldemberg&rft.aufirst=Jose%E2%80%99&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFBurnsBrownRyan1985" class="citation journal cs1">Burns, J. H.; Brown, G. M.; Ryan, R. R. (1985). "Structure of dinitratodioxobis(triisobutyl phosphate)uranium(VI) at 139 K". <i>Acta Crystallographica Section C Crystal Structure Communications</i>. <b>41</b> (10): <span class="nowrap">1446–</span>1448. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985AcCrC..41.1446B">1985AcCrC..41.1446B</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1107%2FS0108270185008125">10.1107/S0108270185008125</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Acta+Crystallographica+Section+C+Crystal+Structure+Communications&rft.atitle=Structure+of+dinitratodioxobis%28triisobutyl+phosphate%29uranium%28VI%29+at+139+K&rft.volume=41&rft.issue=10&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E1446-%3C%2Fspan%3E1448&rft.date=1985&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1107%2FS0108270185008125&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1985AcCrC..41.1446B&rft.aulast=Burns&rft.aufirst=J.+H.&rft.au=Brown%2C+G.+M.&rft.au=Ryan%2C+R.+R.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFJ.H._Burns1983" class="citation journal cs1">J.H. Burns (1983). "Solvent-extraction complexes of the uranyl ion. 2. Crystal and molecular structures of catena-bis(.mu.-di-n-butyl phosphato-O,O')dioxouranium(VI) and bis(.mu.-di-n-butyl phosphato-O,O')bis[(nitrato)(tri-n-butylphosphine oxide)dioxouranium(VI)]". <i>Inorganic Chemistry</i>. <b>22</b> (8): <span class="nowrap">1174–</span>1178. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fic00150a006">10.1021/ic00150a006</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Inorganic+Chemistry&rft.atitle=Solvent-extraction+complexes+of+the+uranyl+ion.+2.+Crystal+and+molecular+structures+of+catena-bis%28.mu.-di-n-butyl+phosphato-O%2CO%27%29dioxouranium%28VI%29+and+bis%28.mu.-di-n-butyl+phosphato-O%2CO%27%29bis%5B%28nitrato%29%28tri-n-butylphosphine+oxide%29dioxouranium%28VI%29%5D&rft.volume=22&rft.issue=8&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E1174-%3C%2Fspan%3E1178&rft.date=1983&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1021%2Fic00150a006&rft.au=J.H.+Burns&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGreenwoodEarnshaw1997" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Norman_Greenwood" title="Norman Greenwood">Greenwood, Norman N.</a>; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). <i>Chemistry of the Elements</i> (2nd ed.). <a href="/wiki/Butterworth-Heinemann" title="Butterworth-Heinemann">Butterworth-Heinemann</a>. p. 1261. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-08-037941-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-08-037941-8"><bdi>978-0-08-037941-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Chemistry+of+the+Elements&rft.pages=1261&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Butterworth-Heinemann&rft.date=1997&rft.isbn=978-0-08-037941-8&rft.aulast=Greenwood&rft.aufirst=Norman+N.&rft.au=Earnshaw%2C+Alan&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFTaylor2015" class="citation book cs1">Taylor, Robin (2015). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=8UedBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA17&dq=purex+nitric+acid+Solids+are+removed+by+filtration+emulsions+third+phases&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwilyf2VppKMAxVnxDgGHUFrK8gQ6AF6BAgNEAM#v=onepage&q=purex%20nitric%20acid%20Solids%20are%20removed%20by%20filtration%20emulsions%20third%20phases&f=false"><i>Reprocessing and Recycling of Spent Nuclear Fuel</i></a>. Woodhead Publishing. p. 17. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-78242-212-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-78242-212-9"><bdi>978-1-78242-212-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Reprocessing+and+Recycling+of+Spent+Nuclear+Fuel&rft.pages=17&rft.pub=Woodhead+Publishing&rft.date=2015&rft.isbn=978-1-78242-212-9&rft.aulast=Taylor&rft.aufirst=Robin&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com.ph%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D8UedBAAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA17%26dq%3Dpurex%2Bnitric%2Bacid%2BSolids%2Bare%2Bremoved%2Bby%2Bfiltration%2Bemulsions%2Bthird%2Bphases%26hl%3Den%26newbks%3D1%26newbks_redir%3D0%26sa%3DX%26ved%3D2ahUKEwilyf2VppKMAxVnxDgGHUFrK8gQ6AF6BAgNEAM%23v%3Donepage%26q%3Dpurex%2520nitric%2520acid%2520Solids%2520are%2520removed%2520by%2520filtration%2520emulsions%2520third%2520phases%26f%3Dfalse&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Gerber2001-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Gerber2001_14-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGerber,_M.S.2001" class="citation web cs1">Gerber, M.S. (February 2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.osti.gov/energycitations/servlets/purl/805998-ZttWY8/native/805998.pdf">"History of Hanford Site Defense Production (Brief)"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <a href="/w/index.php?title=Fluor_Hanford&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Fluor Hanford (page does not exist)">Fluor Hanford</a> / <a href="/wiki/US_DOE" class="mw-redirect" title="US DOE">US DOE</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2009-10-01</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=History+of+Hanford+Site+Defense+Production+%28Brief%29&rft.pub=Fluor+Hanford+%2F+US+DOE&rft.date=2001-02&rft.au=Gerber%2C+M.S.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.osti.gov%2Fenergycitations%2Fservlets%2Fpurl%2F805998-ZttWY8%2Fnative%2F805998.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.greenpeace.de/themen/energiewende-atomkraft/atommuell/wiederaufarbeitung-la-hague">"Greenpeace on La Hague (German version)"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2016-04-30</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Greenpeace+on+La+Hague+%28German+version%29&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenpeace.de%2Fthemen%2Fenergiewende-atomkraft%2Fatommuell%2Fwiederaufarbeitung-la-hague&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1041539562">.mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}</style><span class="citation patent" id="CITEREFAnderson,_Herbert_H._and_Asprey,_Larned_B.Asprey,_Larned_B.1960"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US2924506">US patent 2924506</a>, Anderson, Herbert H. and Asprey, Larned B. & Asprey, Larned B., "Solvent extraction process for plutonium", issued 1960-02-09</span><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Apatent&rft.number=2924506&rft.cc=US&rft.title=Solvent+extraction+process+for+plutonium&rft.inventor=Anderson%2C+Herbert+H.+and+Asprey%2C+Larned+B.&rft.date=1960-02-09&rft.appldate=1947-05-08"><span style="display: none;"> </span></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFP._Gary_EllerBob_PennemanBob_Ryan2005" class="citation web cs1">P. Gary Eller; Bob Penneman & Bob Ryan (2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140201164337/http://arq.lanl.gov/source/orgs/nmt/nmtdo/AQarchive/05spring/05ARQspring.pdf">"Pioneer actinide chemist Larned Asprey dies"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>The Actinide Research Quarterly</i>. Los Alamos National Laboratory. pp. <span class="nowrap">13–</span>17. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://arq.lanl.gov/source/orgs/nmt/nmtdo/AQarchive/05spring/05ARQspring.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 2014-02-01.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Actinide+Research+Quarterly&rft.atitle=Pioneer+actinide+chemist+Larned+Asprey+dies&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E13-%3C%2Fspan%3E17&rft.date=2005&rft.au=P.+Gary+Eller&rft.au=Bob+Penneman&rft.au=Bob+Ryan&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Farq.lanl.gov%2Fsource%2Forgs%2Fnmt%2Fnmtdo%2FAQarchive%2F05spring%2F05ARQspring.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APUREX" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, The Economics of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Paris, 1994</li> <li>I. Hensing and W Schultz, Economic Comparison of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Options, Energiewirtschaftlichen Instituts, Cologne, 1995.</li> <li>Cogema, Reprocessing-Recycling: the Industrial Stakes, presentation to the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Bonn, 9 May 1995.</li> <li>OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, Plutonium Fuel: An Assessment, Paris, 1989.</li> <li>National Research Council, "Nuclear Wastes: Technologies for Separation and Transmutation", National Academy Press, Washington D.C. 1996.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=PUREX&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf69.html">Processing of Used Nuclear Fuel</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070204135816/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf69.html">Archived</a> 2007-02-04 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>, World Nuclear Association</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060518064352/http://npc.sarov.ru/english/digest/62002/appendix7.html">Reactor-Grade Plutonium and Development of Nuclear Weapons</a>, Analytical Center for Non-proliferation</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160521105558/http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/p/purex-process.htm">PUREX Process, European Nuclear Society</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf29.html">Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX)</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130301173649/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf29.html">Archived</a> 2013-03-01 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> – World Nuclear Association</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/report/crs/97-564.htm">Disposal Options for Surplus Weapons-Usable Plutonium</a> – Congressional Research Service Report for Congress</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060323012601/http://mfnl.xjtu.edu.cn/gov-doe-ornl/RDF/history/03_FuelReprocessinHistory.html">Brief History of Fuel Reprocessing</a></li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PUREX&oldid=1281046356">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PUREX&oldid=1281046356</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Radioactive_waste" title="Category:Radioactive waste">Radioactive waste</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Waste_treatment_technology" title="Category:Waste treatment technology">Waste treatment technology</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Nuclear_chemistry" title="Category:Nuclear chemistry">Nuclear chemistry</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Nuclear_reprocessing" title="Category:Nuclear reprocessing">Nuclear reprocessing</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Plutonium" title="Category:Plutonium">Plutonium</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Uranium" title="Category:Uranium">Uranium</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Webarchive_template_wayback_links" title="Category:Webarchive template wayback links">Webarchive template wayback links</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 17 March 2025, at 23:51<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PUREX&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><picture><source media="(min-width: 500px)" srcset="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia.svg" width="25" height="25" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" lang="en" loading="lazy"></picture></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><picture><source media="(min-width: 500px)" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" width="88" height="31"><img src="/w/resources/assets/mediawiki_compact.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" lang="en" width="25" height="25" loading="lazy"></picture></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-header-container vector-sticky-header-container"> <div id="vector-sticky-header" class="vector-sticky-header"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-start"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-start vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" aria-hidden="true"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-sticky-header-search-toggle" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.vector-sticky-search-form.icon"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </button> </div> <div role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box"> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="vector-sticky-search-form" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia"> <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-sticky-header-toc vector-sticky-header-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-sticky-header-toc-label" for="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar-primary" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="mw-page-title-main">PUREX</span></div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-end" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icons"> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-talk-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="talk-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbles mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbles"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-subject-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="subject-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-article mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-article"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-history-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="history-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-history mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-history"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only mw-watchlink" id="ca-watchstar-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="watch-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-star mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-star"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="wikitext-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikiText mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-wikiText"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-ve-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-edit mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-edit"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-viewsource-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-protected-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-editLock mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-editLock"></span> <span></span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-buttons"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet mw-interlanguage-selector" id="p-lang-btn-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-language"></span> <span>13 languages</span> </button> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive" id="ca-addsection-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="addsection-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbleAdd-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbleAdd-progressive"></span> <span>Add topic</span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-end"> <div class="vector-user-links"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mw-portlet mw-portlet-dock-bottom emptyPortlet" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul> </ul> </div> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.eqiad.main-75687f9f4b-sstnh","wgBackendResponseTime":138,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.340","walltime":"0.488","ppvisitednodes":{"value":1541,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":34216,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":2212,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":17,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":3,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":48364,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 412.564 1 -total"," 56.02% 231.124 1 Template:Reflist"," 30.12% 124.253 4 Template:Cite_web"," 26.81% 110.605 1 Template:Short_description"," 11.82% 48.773 2 Template:Pagetype"," 9.31% 38.395 4 Template:Main_other"," 8.71% 35.924 1 Template:SDcat"," 7.47% 30.808 1 Template:Other_uses"," 6.07% 25.047 4 Template:Cite_journal"," 6.03% 24.879 4 Template:Cite_book"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.176","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":5129789,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.eqiad.main-8669bc5c8-tqdcb","timestamp":"20250318160210","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"PUREX","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/PUREX","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q386477","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q386477","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2005-05-08T18:38:56Z","dateModified":"2025-03-17T23:51:12Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/4\/4b\/Plutonium_and_uranium_extraction_from_nuclear_fuel-eng.svg","headline":"plutonium uranium reduction extraction"}</script> </body> </html>