Purex involves the dissolution of irradiated nuclear fuel in nitric acid, followed by separation of the uranium, plutonium, and fission products by solvent extraction using a mixture of tributyl phosphate in an organic diluent.
Purex obsega raztopitev obsevanega jedrskega goriva v dušikovi kislini, ki ji sledi ločevanje urana, plutonija in cepitvenih produktov s solventno ekstrakcijo, za katero se uporablja mešanica tributilfosfata v organski raztopini.