Occurrence
Trace amounts of neptunium are found naturally as decay products from transmutation reactions in uranium ores. Artificial 237Np is produced through the reduction of 237NpF3 with barium or lithium vapor at around 1200 °C and is most often extracted from spent nuclear fuel rods as a by-product in plutonium production.
- 2 NpF3 + 3 Ba → 2 Np + 3 BaF2
By weight, neptunium-237 discharges are about 5% as great as plutonium discharges and about 0.05% of spent nuclear fuel discharges.
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