Production in Nuclear Reactors
Significant quantities of the three light platinum group metals—ruthenium, rhodium and palladium—are formed as fission products in nuclear reactors. With escalating prices and increasing global demand, reactor-produced noble metals are emerging as an alternative source. Various reports are available on the possibility of recovering fission noble metals from spent nuclear fuel.
Recently there is an upsurge in the recovery of valuable fission products which reflects in the form of articles in leading scientific journals. Palladium has been of special interest due to its less complex behavior when compared to rhodium and ruthenium. The special interest in palladium may be also due to its widespread application in chemical catalysis and the electronics industry. Several research groups are exploring the possibility of recovering palladium by various methods like direct electrolysis of high-level liquid waste, using room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as electrolyte for nuclear fuel dissolution and recovery, solvent extraction, ion exchange, etc. Room temperature ionic liquids have been employed to recover rhodium, and ruthenium also recently.
Read more about this topic: Platinum Group
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