Anion-exchange separation of americium and the lanthanides using a single column

Abstract

A sequential separation technique using an anion-exchange column developed in the previous works has the potential to completely separate picograms of Am from the lanthanides using mixtures of acetic acid, hydrochloric acid, and nitric acid as the eluents, without any functional ligands or special columns. This experimental result implies that ultra-trace actinides, including Am, Pu, U, and Th in environmental samples can be sequentially separated by combination of these mixed-media eluents and an anion exchange column.