The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 13, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 08, 1998
William E. Miller, Naperville, IL (US);
Zygmunt Tomczuk, Lockport, IL (US);
The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
Purified plutonium and gallium are efficiently recovered from a solid plutonium-gallium (Pu—Ga) alloy by using an electrorefining process. The solid Pu—Ga alloy is the cell anode, preferably placed in a moving basket within the electrolyte. As the surface of the Pu—Ga anode is depleted in plutonium by the electrotransport of the plutonium to a cathode, the temperature of the electrolyte is sufficient to liquify the surface, preferably at about 500° C., resulting in a liquid anode layer substantially comprised of gallium. The gallium drips from the liquified surface and is collected below the anode within the electrochemical cell. The transported plutonium is collected on the cathode surface and is recovered.