Application of Amberlite Xe-270 Resin to Purification of Neptunium

Amberlite XE-270, a macroreticular weak-base ion-exchange resin made by the Rohm and Haas Company, was used successfully over an 8-mo period in the Hanford Purex plant to purify ∼8 kg of ²³⁷Np. For routine purification of ²³⁷Np, the Amberlite XE-270 resin provides four important advantages over conventional microreticular strong-base resins used heretofore:

1. greatly improved thorium decontamination performance
2. a much sharper neptunium elution band
3. operation at 25°C rather than at 40 or 50°C
4. five-fold lower resin cost.