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Plutonium-239 | |
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A 99.96% pure ring of plutonium |
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General | |
Name, symbol | Plutonium-239,239Pu |
Neutrons | 145 |
Protons | 94 |
Nuclide data | |
Half-life | 24,100 years |
Parent isotopes | 243Cm (α) 239Am (EC) 239Np (β−) |
Decay products | 235U |
Isotope mass | 239.0521634 u |
Spin | +1⁄2 |
Decay mode | Decay energy |
Alpha decay | 5.245 MeV |
Nuclear properties
The nuclear properties of plutonium-239, as well as the ability to produce large amounts of nearly pure Pu-239 more cheaply than highly enriched weapons-grade uranium-235, led to its use in nuclear weapons and nuclear power stations. The fissioning of an atom of uranium-235 in the reactor of a nuclear power plant produces two to three neutrons, and these neutrons can be absorbed by uranium-238 to produce plutonium-239 and other isotopes. Plutonium-239 can also absorb neutrons and fission along with the uranium-235 in a reactor.Of all the common nuclear fuels, Pu-239 has the smallest critical mass. A spherical untampered critical mass is about 11 kg (24.2 lbs),[2] 10.2 cm (4") in diameter. Using appropriate triggers, neutron reflectors, implosion geometry and tampers, this critical mass can be reduced by more than twofold. This optimization usually requires a large nuclear development organization supported by a sovereign nation.
The fission of one atom of Pu-239 generates 207.1 MeV = 3.318 × 10−11 J, i.e. 19.98 TJ/mol = 83.61 TJ/kg.[3]
type of radiation source (fission of Pu-239) | Average energy released [MeV][3] |
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Instantaneously released energy | |
Kinetic energy of fission fragments | 175.8 |
Kinetic energy of prompt neutrons | 5.9 |
Energy carried by prompt γ-rays | 7.8 |
Energy from decaying fission products | |
Energy of β−-particles | 5.3 |
Energy of anti-neutrinos | 7.1 |
Energy of delayed γ-rays | 5.2 |
Sum (total decay energy) | 207.1 |
Energy released when those prompt neutrons which don't (re)produce fission are captured | 11.5 |
Energy converted into heat in an operating thermal nuclear reactor (antineutrino energy escapes reactor and does not appear in total heat) | 211.5 |
Manufacturing
Plutonium is made from U-238. Pu-239 is normally created in nuclear reactors by transmutation of individual atoms of one of the isotopes of uranium present in the fuel rods. Occasionally, when an atom of U-238 is exposed to neutron radiation, its nucleus will capture a neutron, changing it to U-239. This happens more easily with lower kinetic energy (as U-238 fission activation is 6.6MeV). The U-239 then rapidly undergoes two beta decays. After the 238U absorbs a neutron to become 239U it then emits an electron and an anti-neutrino (238 92U + 10n ⟶ 239 92U −→−−−−23.5 minβ− 239 93Np −→−−−2.3565 dβ− 239 94Pu
Fission activity is relatively rare, so even after significant exposure, the Pu-239 is still mixed with a great deal of U-238 (and possibly other isotopes of uranium), oxygen, other components of the original material, and fission products. Only if the fuel has been exposed for a few days in the reactor, can the Pu-239 be chemically separated from the rest of the material to yield high-purity Pu-239 metal.
Pu-239 has a higher probability for fission than U-235 and a larger number of neutrons produced per fission event, so it has a smaller critical mass. Pure Pu-239 also has a reasonably low rate of neutron emission due to spontaneous fission (10 fission/s-kg), making it feasible to assemble a mass that is highly supercritical before a detonation chain reaction begins.
In practice, however, reactor-bred plutonium will invariably contain a certain amount of Pu-240 due to the tendency of Pu-239 to absorb an additional neutron during production. Pu-240 has a high rate of spontaneous fission events (415,000 fission/s-kg), making it an undesirable contaminant. As a result, plutonium containing a significant fraction of Pu-240 is not well-suited to use in nuclear weapons; it emits neutron radiation, making handling more difficult, and its presence can lead to a "fizzle" in which a small explosion occurs, destroying the weapon but not causing fission of a significant fraction of the fuel. (However, in modern nuclear weapons using neutron generators for initiation and fusion boosting to supply extra neutrons, fizzling is not an issue.) It is because of this limitation that plutonium-based weapons must be implosion-type, rather than gun-type. (The US has constructed a single experimental bomb using only reactor-grade plutonium.) Moreover, Pu-239 and Pu-240 cannot be chemically distinguished, so expensive and difficult isotope separation would be necessary to separate them. Weapons-grade plutonium is defined as containing no more than 7% Pu-240; this is achieved by only exposing U-238 to neutron sources for short periods of time to minimize the Pu-240 produced. Pu-240 exposed to alpha particles will incite a nuclear fission.[citation needed]
Plutonium is classified according to the percentage of the contaminant plutonium-240 that it contains:
- Supergrade 2–3%
- Weapons grade less than 7%
- Fuel grade 7–18%
- Reactor grade 18% or more
Supergrade plutonium
The "supergrade" fission fuel, which has less radioactivity, is used in the primary stage of US Navy nuclear weapons in place of the conventional plutonium used in the Air Force's versions."Supergrade" is industry parlance for plutonium alloy bearing an exceptionally high fraction of Pu-239 (>95%), leaving a very low amount of Pu-240 which is a high spontaneous fission isotope (see above). Such plutonium is produced from fuel rods that have been irradiated a very short time as measured in MW-day/ton burnup. Such low irradiation times limit the amount of additional neutron capture and therefore buildup of alternate isotope products such as Pu-240 in the rod, and also by consequence is considerably more expensive to produce, needing far more rods irradiated and processed for a given amount of plutonium.
Plutonium-240, in addition to being a neutron emitter after fission, is a gamma emitter in that process as well, and so is responsible for a large fraction of the radiation from stored nuclear weapons. Submarine crew members routinely operate in close proximity to stored weapons in torpedo rooms, unlike Air Force missiles where exposures are relatively brief—hence justifying the additional costs of the premium supergrade alloy used on many naval nuclear torpedo weapons. Supergrade plutonium is used in W80 warheads.
In nuclear power reactors
In any operating nuclear reactor containing U-238, some plutonium-239 will accumulate in the nuclear fuel.[5] Unlike reactors used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, commercial nuclear power reactors typically operate at a high burnup that allows a significant amount of plutonium to build up in irradiated reactor fuel. Plutonium-239 will be present both in the reactor core during operation and in spent nuclear fuel that has been removed from the reactor at the end of the fuel assembly’s service life (typically several years). Spent nuclear fuel commonly contains about 0.8% plutonium-239.Plutonium-239 present in reactor fuel can absorb neutrons and fission just as uranium-235 can. Since plutonium-239 is constantly being created in the reactor core during operation, the use of plutonium-239 as nuclear fuel in power plants can occur without reprocessing of spent fuel; the plutonium-239 is fissioned in the same fuel rods in which it is produced. Fissioning of plutonium-239 provides about one-third of the total energy produced in a typical commercial nuclear power plant. Reactor fuel would accumulate much more than 0.8% plutonium-239 during its service life if some plutonium-239 were not constantly being “burned off” by fissioning.
A small percentage of plutonium-239 can be deliberately added to fresh nuclear fuel. Such fuel is called MOX (mixed oxide) fuel, as it contains a mixture of uranium oxide (UO2) and plutonium oxide (PuO2). The addition of plutonium-239 reduces or eliminates the need to enrich the uranium in the fuel.
Hazards
Plutonium-239 emits alpha particles to become the fairly harmless uranium-235. As an alpha emitter, plutonium-239 is not particularly dangerous as an external radiation source, but if it is ingested or breathed in as dust it is very dangerous and carcinogenic. It has been estimated that a pound (454 grams) of plutonium inhaled as plutonium oxide dust could give cancer to two million people.[6]Therefore as little as a milligram would be quite likely to cause cancer in a person. As a heavy metal, plutonium is also toxic. See also Plutonium#Precautions.
Plutonium-239 can be used to make nuclear weapons, and the danger of it falling into the wrong hands has been one of the arguments against breeder reactors. Its storage, as fuel or as nuclear waste, must be very secure.