Who and when first carried out the transmutation of elements. Forbidden knowledge. element transmutation is possible! History of discovery and the issue of priority

Arthur Conan Doyle has a story called "The Discovery of Raffles Howe". Her hero invents a way to convert chemical elements from one to another, respectively - and the production of gold. But the scientist is in no hurry to publish his discovery. In this case, Howe argues, gold will immediately depreciate, and something else will take its place.

The scientist prefers to trade his gold in secret, and uses the proceeds for charity and helping those in need. The engineer Garin sets himself the opposite task with Alexei Tolstoy. He rushes to the inexhaustible reserves of the Earth's gold in order to bring chaos to the world economy and seize power.

Gold is the eternal dream of alchemists, and not only them. They laugh at alchemy - pseudoscience, they say, and nothing more. In fact, no one has yet learned how to "bake" gold in his kitchen. But if we still assume that people once possessed the secrets of the transmutation of elements?

Wrath of Emperor Diocletian

In the early Christian era, not many doubted that the priests ancient egypt know the secret of obtaining gold. And thanks to the activities of the Alexandrian Academy in the II-IV centuries, this conviction only strengthened. It got to the point that the Roman emperor Diocletian in 296 issued a special decree. It ordered that all Egyptian manuscripts on the artificial production of gold be burned.

Undoubtedly, Diocletian was preoccupied with the troubles that such knowledge is fraught with for trade and the economic good of the state. Hardly an enlightened emperor was so ignorant as to issue such a decree without good reason. What were the grounds - now it's impossible to establish. Many treasures of human thought perished in the flames of wars and conflagrations, let us recall the libraries of Alexandria and Carthage, which were plundered and destroyed. What hidden knowledge was stored there?

Legend of the Star City

In early February 1517, the Esperanza caravel, under the command of Captain Rafael Rodriguez, was wrecked near the island of Jamaica, 300 miles southeast of Cuba, which was then ruled by the governor of the Spanish king Charles V, Diego Velasquez. In a dilapidated skiff, almost without food and fresh water, there were 13 people, led by Rodriguez himself. For 10 days, the fragile boat was carried along the waves of the Yucatan Strait, until it washed up on the Mexican coast.

Of the 13 sailors, only seven survived ... They were captured by the Maya Indians led by Hala Kayyar and taken to the city of Champoton. The ruler of the city of Moch-Kouo ordered five captives to be immediately sacrificed to the gods ... Two survived, Rafael Rodriguez and Martos Sanchez - their turn has not yet come. The Spaniards were locked in a house, but they managed to dismantle the wall and escape into the forest.

After a month of hungry wanderings, the sailors joined the expedition of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, which arrived in Mexico on three ships in March 1517. Their story has become known to the world. It was believed that Captain Rafael Rodriguez and the six sailors of his unfortunate crew were the first Europeans to set foot on Mayan land.

But according to the legend that will be discussed, this was not so. In 1514, with the blessing of the Holy See, Alvaro Aguileri, the Bishop of Toledo, addressed His Majesty, whom no one in Rome wanted to see anymore because of his excessive cruelty even for an inquisitor. Aguileri proposed to the king that he send an expedition to Mexico in order to bring the light of Christianity to the lost peoples and place them under the protection of the Spanish crown. The project was accepted, but kept a strict secret - so it was easier in case of failure to hide the shame of defeat, and in case of success, to dazzle with the brilliance of the triumph that took place.

Aguileri took up the preparation of the expedition. More difficulties arose than he expected, and only in mid-July 1516 did an armed detachment of 100 people land in Mexico from the 30-gun ship Spain. After a thorough study of the area and interrogations of the Indians, the detachment moved inland.

Aguileri led his people not to the powerful Aztec empire, where Montezuma ruled, but to the south, to a city hidden behind forests and mountains, called the Starry in the language of the Indians (is it not the same mythical Eldorado?). The innumerable wealth of the Star City, which the Indians told about, was what called the bishop on his way.

Two months later, the Aguileri squad, thinned by a third due to insidious ambushes, predator attacks, unknown diseases and bites of poisonous snakes and insects, reached the goal. Entering the city by deceit, the Spaniards in a few hours suppressed all resistance of the inhabitants, who had nothing to oppose to the firearms of strangers. A city full of gold and temptations lay at the feet of Aguileri, and in magnificent temples instead of broken idols rose Catholic crosses.

It would seem that it's time to send the king a report of the victory and chests of gold... However, it wasn't there. Aguileri hatched other plans. Seeing a lot of gold around, the bishop set himself the goal of getting to its source. To his extreme amazement, no gold-bearing deposits were found for miles around ... So, gold was brought to Star City from afar? But where and how, in such huge quantities, in the complete absence of means of communication and vehicles?

Information about the fate of the Aguileri expedition in Spain did not wait, and soon they forgot about it, because the high-profile exploits of Cortes pushed into the shadows the first attempt at a civilizing mission in the country of idolaters. Aguileri, obsessed only with gold, did not pay attention either to the numerous deposits of copper or to the strange rituals of the priests associated with the melting of metals. He died without solving the riddle.

Here is what needs to be added to what has been said. In 1978, in Bulgaria, near the city of Varna, during archaeological excavations of burial grounds of the 6th-5th centuries BC, the richest treasures of gold objects were discovered - a total of more than 400 kilograms!

Meanwhile, there were no gold deposits in the Balkans and there are none, but there is copper in abundance. Was the gold brought here from afar? Maybe. But gold treasures are found both in Nigeria and in Mesopotamia, where there is also no precious metal, but there is a lot of copper. So didn't copper once serve as a raw material for obtaining gold?

Medieval transformations

But what about medieval European alchemists? What were their successes in this field? One of the tireless enthusiasts of the "gold rush" was the famous Dutch alchemist van Helmont. True, he personally did not have a chance to invent the philosopher's stone. But he repeatedly received samples of this mysterious substance from other alchemists, with which he undertook transmutations.

So, he wrote that in 1618 he turned eight ounces of mercury with a quarter grain of this stone into pure gold. The possibility of deception on the part of the alchemist who delivered the sample, according to van Helmont, was excluded, since he was not present at the transmutation.

There were also cases of public demonstration of such transformations. Sometimes, after the death of famous alchemists, ingots of gold were found. Leonardo da Vinci recommended in his notes: “Carefully examining the branches of gold, you will see at their ends that they slowly and gradually grow, turning into gold what they come into contact with.”

Is this possible in principle? And if possible, how?

How is this possible?

The carrier of the chemical properties of any element is its electron shell, but its structure is "encoded" in the nucleus of the atom. Electrons can be added or removed by chemical reactions, but as long as the nucleus remains the same, the element will still remain the same. Consequently, any transmutations of elements are nuclear reactions. Are they possible under normal conditions, without gigantic temperatures, achievable only in an atomic explosion?

A number of leading scientists believe: yes, it is possible with the help of catalysts. In chemistry, these are substances that accelerate the course of a reaction many times over. But that is chemistry, but are nuclear catalysts possible? Theoretically yes. If it were possible to "unfold" the nucleus of an atom, bring it closer to another, then it would become possible to obtain gold from lighter copper. Theoretically, this is irrefutable, but in practice, modern science is still very far from such results.

So could ancient scientists have such knowledge? It is difficult to answer unambiguously. But it must be borne in mind that transformations in nature are its universal property and they can be accelerated many times by selecting the appropriate catalysts. In addition, we often rediscover what has long been discovered, albeit not in a rational way, but by an intuitive train of thought.

curiosities

And I would like to finish this article with funny curiosities related to our topic. So, in 1854, a certain Theophilus Tiffero came to the French Academy of Sciences and presented ... two ingots of artificial gold, which he was allegedly taught to make in Mexico. This case caused extreme irritation in D.I. Mendeleev, who took it as an attack on the very foundations of chemistry.

And at the end of the 19th century, the scam of Jonathan Emmens, who proposed ... to turn Mexican silver dollars into gold ones, made a lot of noise in America. A corresponding joint-stock company was created, which soon collapsed safely. It is curious that the swindler was so convincing that he attracted the attention of such prominent scientists of the time as Archibald Geikie and William Crookes.

However, let's leave the charlatans on their extremely dubious Olympus. As for alchemy, then, as the medieval scholastic, monk and heretic Marcus Delmonte stated, “the inner meaning of this science is all conjugation, that is, the relationship of the whole with its constituent parts. Rightly understood, alchemy deals with the conscious force that governs mutations and transmutations within matter, energy, and even within life itself...”

Andrey BYSTROV

Tamara Sakhno and Viktor Kurashov have learned how to synthesize superheavy transuranium elements, the price of which reaches a trillion dollars per gram. How exactly they did it and what other scientists think about it, on the Day of Science, celebrated on the eighth of February, tells AiF-Kazan.

juggle with cannonballs

Chemists-biotechnologists have figured out how to carry out nuclear reactions without using accelerators known to physicists such as the synchrophasotron. According to them, living microorganisms can play the role of accelerators. To survive in a threatening environment, these microbes were capable of a miracle - they themselves began to carry out nuclear reactions - to turn one nucleus into another. Thus, in a solution with radioactive chemical elements, they began to accelerate the processes of synthesis and decay so that, as a result, a variety of chemical elements could be found in the flask - literally the entire periodic table. Scientifically, this is called the microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements.

Photo: From the personal archive Viktor Kurashov

“We have patented such a method and are confident that we can produce in weight quantities, that is, not in atoms, but in grams, any elements of the periodic table, including technetium, polonium, francium and superheavy transuranium elements, for example, fermium, einsteinium,” says one from the authors of the patent Viktor Kurashov. - Such substances cost billions of dollars, and the price of polonium-209, for example, reaches one trillion dollars per gram. The results of our experiments to obtain such valuable elements confirmed the conclusions of experts from the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Geology and Oil and Gas Technologies of KFU.”

By the way, only technetium, neptunium, and plutonium are produced in kilograms per year in the world, because these are waste products of uranium combustion and they appear along the way. The artificial production of elements with superheavy and superheavy masses is hindered by the so-called Coulomb barrier, which prevents the nuclei from approaching each other and prevents a thermonuclear reaction. Therefore, many substances are obtained in scanty volumes, for example, California produces only 5-10 grams per year, polonium-210, 9 grams per year. Actinium in the entire history of the world received only 12 grams, but mendelevium, nobelium, lawrencia, fermium have not received even a gram. Meanwhile, a kilogram of fermium could replace all the oil, coal and gas produced in a year!

Kazan scientists claim that back in 2016 they were able to obtain all the listed substances and even the 104-118th elements from the periodic table, which are not on Earth. And all these chemical substances appeared in one solution as a result of the work of microorganisms. In science, this is called cold nuclear fusion, because to overcome the Coulomb barrier it is not necessary to create conditions - to raise the temperature, to use powerful energy.

A photo: From personal archive Tamara Sakhno

“We took biomass from nature, adapted it and placed it in a solution with the chemical elements necessary for synthesis,” explained Tamara Sakhno, who has been engaged in this research for 40 years. - Microbes accelerate synthesis, as a result of which more and more new substances are obtained over time. Some elements are synthesized quickly - in just two hours, others take longer - in two months. The main thing is that we can stop this process at any time in order to highlight exactly those elements that we need.”

Secret know-how

True, the substances themselves still remain in solution, scientists do not isolate them. “If someone asks why we didn’t present, for example, a gram of fermium as evidence, let him try to walk around the city with at least a gram of uranium. How can this be imagined? - Viktor Kurashov is ahead of his opponents' questions.

However, the mechanism that allows achieving such results, the masters of cold nuclear fusion have not yet patented and keep it a secret. This is what makes their physicist opponents doubt the significance of the achievement itself. Like, if you claim that you have overcome the Coulomb barrier and bypassed the law of conservation of energy, then please first explain how you did it! If bacteria did what physics could not do, then this is a knockout of all modern nuclear physics.

“If this is a discovery, then it reminds me of the story of the Wright brothers, who first said that an airplane flies,” says Ravil Nigmatullin, professor at the Department of Radio Electronics and Information and Measurement Engineering at Kazan National Technical University, who is also working on overcoming the Coulomb barrier. - Prior to this aircraft, the London Academy of Sciences did not accept a single patent for aircraft heavier than air. But then Nikolai Zhukovsky was found, who explained why the plane was taking off. So in the case of cold nuclear fusion - there is a fact, but the reasons are not clear, therefore there are many questions. The fact is that all nuclear reactions require a million times more energy than processes involving microorganisms. And to the question of how a small bacterium suddenly earned a million times more intense, there is no answer yet. Perhaps the bacteria somehow take energy from the vacuum, but this is from the realm of fantasy.

But biotechnologists believe in the "superpower" of microbes. “I think where living organisms work, everything is difficult to explain there, so the mechanism is unclear,” says Maxim Shulaev, professor at the Department of Chemical Cybernetics at Kazan National Technological University. - But here is a simple example: water molecules are the strongest molecules in the world, if you try to "take away" oxygen from water - it won't work! However, with photosynthesis using the simple enzyme chlorophyll, this becomes possible. I believe that any physical law can be explained by the work of living organisms.

“The well-known microbiologist Grigory Karavaiko said that the mechanisms can be studied for thousands of years and not understood, but the production will work, - echoes Professor Tamara Sakhno. - For example, oil cracking and coal pyrolysis began to be used before their mechanisms were explained. We have made thousands of experiments and confirmed the results by X-ray fluorescence and mass spectroscopy.”

However, for physicists, such evidence does not seem to be enough. Many believe that chemists, in order to declare the discovery publicly, have yet to verify the results of their experiments more precise methods and confirm the effectiveness of such experiments in new conditions - in other laboratories.

Opinion of the theorist

Scientific video blogger, theoretical physicist Igor Danilov:

“There are theories that explain the possibility of cold nuclear fusion. For example, the work of Alla Kornilova and Vladimir Vysotsky from Moscow. True, Tamara Sakhno and Viktor Kurashov insist that their reactions are millions of times stronger. But Kornilova and Vysotsky have an evidentiary method, while Sakhno and Kurashov have not presented such evidence yet. That is why I dare to suggest that the Kazan scientists simply underfiltered the solution and mistook for fermium and other superheavy elements the metabolic products of bacteria - complex organic molecules consisting of hundreds of carbon and hydrogen atoms. After all, the X-ray fluorescence method and mass spectroscopy do not exclude such an error. We need to check the results with more advanced methods, for example, nuclear magnetic resonance.”

Recently there has been a revolution in chemistry and physics. A method for the transmutation of chemical elements using biochemistry has been discovered. Two brilliant Russian practical scientists, chemists - Tamara Sakhno and Victor Kurashov made this world discovery. The dream of the ancient alchemists - came true...

There is such a thing as transmutation. It is known to many from the history of alchemy. It means the transformation of some chemical elements into others or one isotopes of chemical elements into others.

Transmutation in alchemy - the transformation of one metal into another; usually meant the transformation of base metals into noble ones. The implementation of transmutation was the main goal of alchemy, for the achievement of which the search for the philosopher's stone was carried out. In the metaphysical sense, which also concerns the spiritual sphere, not only the material, but also the person is subject to transformation.

Transmutation in physics is the transformation of atoms of some chemical elements into others as a result of the radioactive decay of their nuclei or nuclear reactions; the term is rarely used in physics today.

With today's technologies, transmutation is carried out either in a nuclear chain reaction, when the original uranium-235 is converted into other elements during an explosion, or in nuclear reactors, when the same uranium is converted into other elements under the influence of neutron bombardment. Thus, plutonium, curium, francium, californium, americium and so on were artificially obtained - elements that either do not exist in nature or are practically impossible to obtain from natural sources.

However, today a revolution has been made in chemistry and physics. A method for the transmutation of chemical elements using biochemistry has been discovered.

With the help of chemical reagents and bacteria, most of the known valuable and especially valuable isotopes can be obtained from ore containing natural uranium-238, the price of which is 50-60 dollars per kilogram. You can get actinium-227, which is less than a gram in the world - in kilograms and even tons. Only this will ensure a revolution in the global energy sector, as it will increase the efficiency of nuclear power plants by 10 times, which finally ends the hydrocarbon era. You can get kilograms of Americium and make a revolution in industrial flaw detection and the search for minerals. You can get Polonium and satellites of the earth will acquire a different quality of power supply.

Victor and Tamara conducted 2000 experiments and during transmutation, from cheap raw materials, they received, among other things, gold and platinum as by-products. (Hello gold holders :).

In addition, the technology allows using bacteria and reagents created by Tamara and Viktor to carry out 100% deactivation of nuclear waste. Bacteria transform everything. What previously could only be buried, creating a danger to environment, can now be 100% deactivated. What's more, the transmutation deactivation process yields valuable elements, including gold and platinum. Both stable isotopes and radioactive ones. By the way, the isotope of radioactive gold-198 is used to treat oncology.

The invention of Viktor Kurashov and Tamara Sakhno was confirmed by the RF Patent in August 2015 ( See Patent RU 2 563 511 C2 on the website of Rospatent). The results were signed by chemistry professors, some of whom saw curium, francium and actinium in a spectrogram for the first time.

That is, I repeat once again - biochemical transmutation is a discovery of epochal significance. Moreover, and this is the most important thing, these are not laboratory estimates, this is already off-the-shelf technology suitable for immediate industrial scale-up. Everything is already done.

Another important fact is that everything was done exclusively with private funds. Scientists for 25 years had nothing to do with the Russian state, earning money in applied chemistry related to cleaning up oil pollution. So that there were no questions and the likelihood of classification, even foreign ore was used for research - from Saudi Arabia and from the coast of the Indian Ocean.

Now, what do I have to do with this? I am the administrator of this project.

It is clear that such wealth in the Russian Federation cannot be realized in many respects. Let's discard politics, it will not be remembered at all in this matter. But in reality, in the Russian Federation, from the point of view of even narrow-minded logic, it is impossible. Not because the Kremlin, let's forget the Kremlin and politics. And because it is impossible according to worldly wisdom. Starting from the probability of the appearance on the horizon of some zealous specialists with illegal circulation of radioactive substances (after all, they put a man in prison because he brought a ton of culinary poppy seeds). Or there checking, resolving and rechecking. And so on, up to the travel ban for the authors and all sorts of different surprises.

Hence, the decision was to go to present this case to the world public in Geneva ( the conference took place on June 21, 2016). To a neutral country, which, moreover, is not a member of NATO. This whole operation was organized by me.

This is a world-class event and will be of importance primarily for Russia. Although the implementation may be in Switzerland...

On June 21, 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland, a press conference was held on the landmark discovery of the transmutation of chemical elements by a biochemical method.
The Conference was attended by Tamara Sakhno, Viktor Kurashov - scientists who made this discovery and Vladislav Karabanov, administrator and leader of this project.

Victor and Tamara carried out experiments on transmutation, from raw materials - uranium, thorium. As a result of experiments with raw materials, a technology was obtained that allows using bacteria and reagents to carry out 100% deactivation of nuclear waste.
The results have been verified by hundreds of analyzes of independent laboratories on the most modern instruments, and confirmed by acts signed by reputable chemists (some of whom have seen curium, francium and actinium in the spectrogram for the first time in their lives).
Technology affects many areas of human activity, medicine, energy. In the future, this will lead to a qualitative change in human life on planet Earth. Welcome to the New Age.

Claim

The invention relates to the field of biotechnology and transmutation of chemical elements. Radioactive raw materials containing radioactive chemical elements or their isotopes are treated with an aqueous suspension of bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus in the presence of elements with variable valence. Ores or radioactive waste from nuclear cycles are used as radioactive raw materials. The method is carried out with the production of polonium, radon, francium, radium, actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, neptunium, americium, nickel, manganese, bromine, hafnium, ytterbium, mercury, gold, platinum and their isotopes. EFFECT: invention makes it possible to obtain valuable radioactive elements, carry out inactivation of nuclear waste with the conversion of radioactive isotopes of waste elements into stable isotopes. 2 w.p. f-ly, 18 ill., 5 tab., 9 pr.

The invention relates to the field of transmutation of chemical elements and the transformation of radioactive isotopes, that is, to the artificial production of some chemical elements from other chemical elements. In particular, the method makes it possible to obtain rare and valuable elements: polonium, radon, francium, radium and actinides - actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, neptunium, as well as various isotopes of the listed and other elements.

Known are the transformations of chemical elements, the formation of new isotopes of elements and new chemical elements during nuclear decays and synthesis of chemical elements, used in traditional nuclear reactors, at nuclear power plants (NPP), in scientific nuclear reactors, for example, when chemical elements are irradiated with neutrons, or protons, or alpha particles.

A method is known for producing the nickel-63 radionuclide in a reactor from a target, which involves obtaining a nickel-enriched nickel-62 target, irradiating the target in the reactor, followed by enriching the irradiated product with nickel-63 when extracting the nickel-64 isotope from the product (RU 2313149, 2007). The advantage of the method is the production of a high quality product, which is intended for use in autonomous sources of electrical energy, in detectors of explosives, etc. The reproducibility of the results is confirmed by the analysis of the isotopic composition of elements by mass spectrometry.

However, the method is complex and unsafe, requiring an industrial degree of safety.

There is also known a method of transmutation of elements - long-lived radioactive nuclides, including those arising in irradiated nuclear fuel (RU 2415486, 2011). The method consists in irradiating the transmuted material with a neutron flux, and the irradiation is carried out with neutrons obtained in nuclear fusion reactions in a pre-formed plasma of a neutron source, with a certain arrangement of the neutron-scattering medium. This method is based on nuclear fusion reactions in a tokomak, is also complex and requires special equipment.

A known method for producing radionuclides Th-228 and Ra-224, which is also implemented in a reactor technology. The technology is quite complex and has security restrictions (RU 2317607, 2008).

Thus, in the production of chemical elements and their isotopes, nuclear reactions are traditionally used with the use of nuclear reactors and other complex equipment at high energy costs.

There are known attempts to solve the problem of obtaining radioactive isotopes in the process of nuclear transmutation of elements in a safer way, using microorganisms. Known, in particular, a method of converting isotopes using microorganisms, involving the cultivation of a microbiological culture of Deinococcus radiodurans on a nutrient medium containing the initial isotope components necessary for transmutation, as well as deficient in a close chemical analogue of the target element. Such initial isotopic components are introduced into the composition of the medium, which are radioactive and in the process of transmutation can lead to the formation of the target chemical element in the form of a stable or radioactive isotope, which is absorbed by the microbiological culture, and then remains stable or remains radioactive or decays to the required stable isotope (RU 2002101281 A, 2003). This method does not provide a high yield of the target isotope, and also requires the use of ionizing radiation as a starting and supporting factor for the reaction.

Also known is a method for obtaining stable isotopes due to nuclear transmutation such as low-temperature nuclear fusion of elements in microbiological cultures (RU 2052223, 1996). The method consists in that microbial cells grown in a nutrient medium deficient in the target isotope (target isotopes) are affected by factors contributing to the destruction of interatomic bonds and leading to an increase in the concentration of free atoms or ions of hydrogen isotopes. The nutrient medium is prepared on the basis of heavy water and unstable isotopes deficient for the medium are introduced into it, which ultimately decay with the formation of target stable isotopes. Ionizing radiation is used as a factor that destroys interatomic bonds. This method is based on the use of ionizing radiation, is not intended for industrial scaling, and requires high energy and financial costs.

All of the listed chemical elements, their isotopes and by-products are still obtained by complex and unsafe traditional methods by traditional nuclear reactions in small (sometimes - in micro) quantities, which are clearly insufficient to meet the energy, technical, industrial, technical and scientific needs of mankind. The described microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements makes it possible to obtain all of the above chemical elements and their isotopes in practically unlimited quantities, simple to perform, safe for personnel and the public, environmentally friendly method that does not require large expenditures of materials, water, heat, electricity and heating, providing this energy, industrial, technical and scientific problems of civilization. These elements and isotopes carry colossal reserves of energy, have an extremely high value and sale price in the market.

A microbiological method for the transmutation of chemical elements and the conversion of isotopes of chemical elements is proposed, characterized in that radioactive raw materials containing radioactive chemical elements or their isotopes are treated with an aqueous suspension of bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus in the presence of any s, p, d, f-elements with variable valence. The selection of elements with variable valence is carried out according to the principle of creating a high redox potential. That is, the key factor in such a selection, or simply focusing on certain elements with variable valence introduced into the reaction medium, is the redox potential, the value of which is optimal in the range of 400-800 mV (for example, in examples 1, 2, 3, 4 Eh=635 mV, 798 mV, 753 mV and 717 mV, respectively).

Elements with variable valence, both in reduced and oxidized forms, creating a standard redox potential, are involved in the implementation of triggering and controlling mechanisms for initiating and accelerating alpha, beta-minus and beta-plus decays of radioactive isotopes of elements of any group by bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus.

The method leads to the production of polonium, radon, francium, radium, actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, neptunium, americium and their isotopes, as well as nickel, manganese, bromine, hafnium, ytterbium, mercury, gold, platinum and their isotopes. Ores or radioactive waste from nuclear cycles can be used as radioactive raw materials containing radioactive chemical elements.

According to the claimed method, the following elements are obtained from raw materials containing natural uranium-238 and thorium-232:

1. Protactinium, actinium, radium, polonium and various isotopes of these elements (tables 1, 2, 3, 4; schemes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; figures from 1 to 17).

2. Francius (figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14).

3. Ytterbium, hafnium, gallium, nickel (table 1; figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), gold (table 1; figures 6, 7), mercury (tables 1, 2; schemes 9, 10; figures 4, 5, 11), platinum (table 1; schemes 9, 10; figures 4, 5, 6, 7).

4. The iron content in the medium decreases, nickel appears (there was no nickel in the original ore), and the nickel content increases in dynamics (Table 1), since iron takes on alpha particles carried by bacteria from alpha radioactive elements, turning into nickel. The detachment of a proton from the iron nucleus leads to an increase in the manganese content in the medium (the transformation of iron into manganese) and, accordingly, to a decrease in the iron content (Table 1).

5. Various isotopes of thallium, mercury, gold, platinum, including stable ones, were obtained from polonium, which is a decay product of actinides in the microbiological process of transmutation of elements (tables 1, 2; schemes 10, 11; tables 1, 2; figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11).

6. Rare isotopes were obtained from plutonium-239: uranium-235, thorium-231, protactinium-231, actinium-227 (Scheme 12).

7. From plutonium-241, which is a by-product of uranium combustion in a reactor, rare in nature and industry, and deficient isotopes of americium and neptunium, 241 Am and 237 Np, were obtained (Scheme 13).

Thus, the described microbiological method solves the problems of providing energy and rare scarce materials in various fields of industry, science and technology.

Previously, all of the listed elements and their various isotopes were obtained artificially in small and micro-quantities (in grams, milligrams, micrograms and less) during nuclear reactions and processes, in nuclear reactors, as decay products of uranium and thorium, as well as plutonium, radium . Isotopes of thorium and uranium were also obtained artificially in nuclear reactions. The following elements were obtained by the authors by this method: polonium, radon, francium, radium and actinides - actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, neptunium, plutonium, americium and various isotopes of the listed elements, as well as various isotopes of thorium and uranium - thorium-227, thorium- 228, thorium-230, thorium-234; uranium-231, uranium-232, uranium-233, uranium-234, uranium-235, uranium-236, uranium-239, as well as manganese, nickel, gallium, bromine, hafnium, ytterbium, thallium, mercury, gold, platinum ( see schemes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and tables 1, 2, 3, 4).

The claimed method of transmutation of chemical elements makes it possible to obtain all of the above chemical elements and their isotopes in practically unlimited quantities.

The described method of transmutation of elements also makes it possible to inactivate and neutralize nuclear waste, for example, waste from the combustion of nuclear fuel (uranium) from nuclear power plants containing uranium, plutonium, their isotopes and fission and decay products (isotope transition products): isotopes of uranium and plutonium (see diagram). 13), radium and polonium, more radioactive isotopes of strontium, iodine, cesium, radon, xenon and other products of alpha and beta decay, and spontaneous fission of uranium and plutonium.

It should be noted that the well-known traditional nuclear reactor methods for the production and separation of polonium, radium, actinium, protactinium, neptunium, americium, their isotopes and valuable isotopes of thorium and uranium are technologically difficult to implement, high-cost, require complex expensive equipment and are dangerous for human health and the environment. environment, in contrast to the proposed method. Also, the known traditional nuclear reactor methods for the production and isolation of polonium, radium, actinium, protactinium, neptunium, americium, their isotopes and valuable isotopes of thorium and uranium do not meet the needs of energy and other various fields of science and technology in these chemical elements and in their isotopes.

In the claimed method, bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus (for example, the species Thiobacillus aquaesulis or Thiobacillus ferrooxidans) in the presence of elements with variable valence, initiate and accelerate the natural processes of radioactive decay and isotopic transitions of radioactive elements. At the same time, the time of natural nuclear reactions and isotopic transitions is accelerated by thousands, millions and billions of times - depending on the natural half-life of the initial isotopes of certain chemical elements.

Any raw materials and materials containing radioactive elements are used as feedstock, namely: 1. Natural uranium and thorium in the form of ores: uranium and/or thorium ores, or sands, for example, monazite sands containing thorium, phosphates/phosphorites; any ores containing impurities of thorium, uranium, plutonium in any quantities and ratios to each other. 2. Plutonium (see Schemes 12, 13), uranium, thorium and other radioactive elements obtained in nuclear reactors, including those that are waste from nuclear cycles. 3. Any other industrial components and waste containing any actinides, mainly thorium, uranium, or plutonium, as more common, available and cheap on the market, any of these elements in any ratio among themselves. 4. Radioactive decay products of plutonium, uranium, thorium series: radium, radon, polonium. 5. Polonium, which is a decay product of actinides in the microbiological process of transmutation of elements, to obtain various rare isotopes of thallium, mercury, gold, platinum, including their stable isotopes. 6. Radioactive products (fragments) of plutonium and uranium fission - radioactive isotopes of strontium, yttrium, cesium, iodine and other elements; their transmutation is expedient in order to convert them into non-radioactive and non-hazardous elements and isotopes for humans, to improve the environment. 7. All listed types of raw materials (elements) for microbiological processing are used both separately and together, in any ratio with each other.

Raw materials containing any of the above radioactive elements are treated with an aqueous solution of bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus, for example, Thiobacillus aquaesullis or Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, or a mixture of them in any proportion relative to each other, or any type of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, in the presence of elements with variable valence, under normal conditions of microorganism activity.

The method does not require nuclear reactors that are expensive and dangerous for people and the environment; it is carried out under normal conditions, in ordinary containers, with normal temperature environment (quite acceptable values ​​​​from 4 to 60 degrees Celsius), at normal atmospheric pressure, does not require fresh water consumption.

Mechanisms

In our method, microorganisms initiate and accelerate alpha decay (-α), beta minus (-β), and beta plus (+β) decay (electron capture). Microorganisms capture in the nuclei of heavy elements (mainly in any f-elements and in heavy s-elements) protons, alpha particles (two protons and two neutrons) and electrons (beta minus decay), while transferring the captured protons, alpha -particles and electrons to other elements, mainly to d- and p-elements, for example, to arsenic and iron. Also, microorganisms can transfer protons, alpha particles, electrons and positrons to other elements, for example, to the f-element ytterbium, if it is present in the medium. Bacterial capture and detachment of protons, alpha particles and electrons occurs in radioactive elements of the f-group and s-group (according to the classification of the periodic system of elements). Bacteria also initiate and accelerate beta-plus (+β) decay (electron capture) in the nuclei of beta-plus radioactive isotopes of elements of any group, transferring to the nucleus of these elements an electron obtained in the process of beta-minus (-β) decay of other isotopes subjected to beta-minus decay, or captured from elements of variable valency (not radioactive) present in the environment during their bacterial oxidation.

Bacterial transfer of protons (P), alpha particles (α) and electrons (e -) is carried out to d-group elements (for example, to iron and others), to p-group elements (for example, to arsenic and others) and to elements of the s-group (strontium, cesium, radium and others).

Bacterial capture and detachment of protons, alpha particles and electrons occurs in alpha and beta radioactive isotopes of f-group, s-group and p-group elements, which themselves are naturally (naturally) alpha or beta radioactive, while bacteria initiate and accelerate the processes of alpha and beta decay millions and billions of times.

Bio-alpha decay (-α)

In the process of alpha decay, when the nuclei lose two protons, the elements of the f- and s-groups turn into lighter elements (transition two cells forward in the table of the periodic table of elements).

After capturing and detaching protons and alpha particles from f- and s-elements, bacteria transfer these protons and alpha particles to various elements of d-, p- and s-groups, converting them to other elements - next in order in the periodic system of chemical elements (go one or two cells forward in the table of the periodic system of elements).

In bacterial transfer of alpha particles from f-elements to iron, iron is converted to nickel (see Table 1); during bacterial transfer of protons and alpha particles from f-elements to arsenic, arsenic is converted to bromine (see Table 1); during bacterial transfer of protons and alpha particles from f-elements to ytterbium, ytterbium is converted to hafnium (see Table 1).

Bio-beta decay (-β, +β)

Bacteria provoke and greatly accelerate both types of beta decay: beta-minus decay and beta-plus decay.

Beta-minus decay (-β) is the emission of an electron by the nucleus, as a result of which a neutron is converted into a proton with the transformation of the element into the next one in the position in the periodic system of chemical elements (transition one cell forward in the table of the periodic system of elements).

Beta-plus decay (+β) - the capture of an electron by the nucleus, as a result, a proton is converted into a neutron with the transformation of the element into the previous one in terms of location in the periodic system of chemical elements (transition one cell back according to the table of the periodic system of elements).

In the process of beta decay provoked and accelerated by bacteria, in a number of cases, the subsequent emission of the so-called delayed neutron occurs - already spontaneously, naturally, according to the physical laws of isotope decays and transitions, with the production of a lighter isotope of a given element. The use of the delayed neutron emission mechanism makes it possible to further expand the list of obtained elements and isotopes, as well as to predict and regulate the process of bio-transmutation (stop it at the right time).

Bacteria initiate and accelerate beta decay - the emission of an electron from the nucleus or the introduction of an electron into the nucleus (electron capture) of beta radioactive chemical elements. Bacteria initiate and accelerate the beta decay of isotopes of elements, both primarily contained in raw materials, in the environment, and isotopes of elements obtained artificially in a bioprocess, after alpha decay provoked by bacteria. The last fact - beta decay occurring after bacterial-induced alpha decay is of great practical importance in order to obtain valuable scarce energy-important elements and isotopes.

Bacteria also capture and tear off electrons from nuclei that are lighter than f-elements, namely, from beta-minus radioactive isotopes - fission products ("fragments") of uranium and plutonium, for example, from nuclei of strontium-90, yttrium-90 , iodine-129, iodine-130, cesium-133, cesium-137 and some other elements that turn into stable elements during this beta decay. At the same time, in the nucleus of a chemical element, a neutron is converted into a proton, and the element's serial number is shifted by one or two (depending on the initial isotope) cells forward according to the table of the periodic system of elements. This process makes it possible to radically and environmentally cleanly dispose of highly radioactive waste from nuclear industries and nuclear power plants, i.e. from nuclear fuel combustion products that contain radioactive elements - "fragments" of the fission of uranium, plutonium and other transuranic elements - actinides, as well as fission products of thorium, if it is used in the thorium nuclear cycle.

The electron captured by bacteria during beta-minus decay is transferred by bacteria to the nuclei of beta-plus radioactive isotopes of elements (if they are present in the medium). Redox reactions also take place in the process. For example, during bacterial transfer of electrons to iron (III), the latter is converted into iron (II), during bacterial transfer of electrons to arsenic (V), the latter is converted into arsenic (III). The surface charge of bacterial cells is determined by the dissociation of ionogenic groups of the cell wall, which consists of proteins, phospholipids and lipopolysaccharides. At the physiological pH value of microbial cells, bacteria carry an excess negative charge on their surface, which is formed due to the dissociation of ionogenic, predominantly acidic, groups of the cell surface. The negatively charged surface of microbial cells attracts oppositely charged ions from the environment, which, under the influence of electrostatic forces, tend to approach the ionized groups of the cell membrane. As a result, the cell is surrounded by a double electric layer (adsorption and diffusion). The cell charge constantly fluctuates depending on the processes taking place in the environment. When exposed to alpha particles, the negative charge of cells falls (in absolute value) and turns into a positive charge, which accelerates the processes of beta decay. Further, under the influence of electrons released during beta decay from radioactive elements, as well as electrons transferred from elements of variable valence in reduced form to the adsorption layer of microorganisms, the negative charge of microorganisms increases (in absolute value), flips from positive to negative, which accelerates processes of alpha decay, pulling positively charged protons and alpha particles from atoms of chemical elements. These accelerating processes occur due to electrical interactions of negatively and positively charged cell surface groups with alpha and beta particles of radioactive elements, respectively. In the logarithmic stage of microorganism growth, the negative charge of cells reaches its maximum value, which leads to the maximum rate of transformation, the transformation of elements. The processes of transformation of chemical elements can occur both inside bacterial cells and on the surface of the cell wall in the adsorption layer of the electrical double layer.

Thus, microbial cells, labilely changing their charging characteristics, are a regulating and accelerating system for several types of radioactive decay and the transformation of some elements into others.

In order to accelerate the processes of transmutation of chemical elements by microorganisms, when the charge of microorganisms approached the isoelectric point in the reaction solution, surfactants are used. Polyampholytes, ionic surfactants, both anionic and cationic surfactants, introduced into the reaction medium, by changing the charge of the cells (shift of the charge from the isoelectric point to the negative or positive side), contribute to bacterial initiation and intensification of the processes of transmutation of chemical elements (example 9).

Industrial and scientific and technical significance of the invention

The microbiological method of transmutation of elements, acceleration of nuclear reactions and isotopic transitions, allows obtaining valuable and scarce radioactive elements in unlimited quantities, which are in high demand on the market, in technology, industry and scientific research. These elements and isotopes carry colossal reserves of energy, have an extremely high value and sale price in the market. The following highlights the low and rare content in nature of these chemical elements and their isotopes, the difficulty of obtaining them in nuclear reactors, as a result of which their world production is negligible, and the market price is very high. The areas of application of the obtained elements and the global demand for them are also described.

Polonium is always present in uranium and thorium minerals, but in such negligible amounts that it is impractical and unprofitable to obtain it from ores by known traditional methods. The equilibrium content of polonium in the earth's crust is about 2·10 -14% by weight. Microquantities of polonium are extracted from uranium ore processing waste. Polonium is isolated by extraction, ion exchange, chromatography and sublimation.

The main industrial method for obtaining polonium is its artificial synthesis by nuclear reactions, which is expensive and unsafe.

Polonium-210 in alloys with beryllium and boron is used to manufacture compact and very powerful neutron sources that practically do not create γ-radiation (but short-lived due to the short lifetime of 210 Po: T 1/2 = 138.376 days) - alpha particles of polonium-210 give rise to neutrons on the nuclei of beryllium or boron in the (α, n)-reaction. These are hermetically sealed metal ampoules containing a polonium-210-coated boron carbide or beryllium carbide ceramic pellet. Such neutron sources are light and portable, completely safe in operation and very reliable. For example, the Soviet neutron source VNI-2 was a brass ampoule two centimeters in diameter and four centimeters high, emitting up to 90 million neutrons every second.

Polonium is sometimes used to ionize gases, in particular air. First of all, air ionization is necessary to combat static electricity (in production, when handling especially sensitive equipment). For example, dust removal brushes are made for precision optics.

An important field of application of polonium is its use in the form of alloys with lead, yttrium, or alone for the production of powerful and very compact heat sources for autonomous installations, for example, space or polar ones. One cubic centimeter of polonium-210 releases about 1320 watts of heat. For example, in the Soviet self-propelled vehicles of the Lunokhod space program, a polonium heater was used to heat the instrument compartment.

Polonium-210 can serve in an alloy with a light isotope of lithium (6 Li) as a substance that can significantly reduce the critical mass of a nuclear charge and serve as a kind of nuclear detonator.

Until now, industrial and commercial (market) quantities of polonium have been milligrams and grams of polonium.

Currently, radium is used in compact neutron sources; for this, small amounts of it are alloyed with beryllium. Under the action of alpha radiation, neutrons are knocked out of beryllium: 9 Be + 4 He → 12 C + 1 n.

In medicine, radium is used as a source of radon, including for the preparation of radon baths. Radium is used for short-term exposure in the treatment of malignant diseases of the skin, nasal mucosa, and urinary tract.

The small use of radium is associated, among other things, with its negligible content in the earth's crust and in ores, and with the high cost and complexity of obtaining artificially in nuclear reactions.

In the time that has passed since the discovery of radium - more than a century - only 1.5 kg of pure radium has been mined worldwide. One ton of uranium pitch, from which the Curies obtained radium, contained only about 0.0001 grams of radium-226. All natural radium is radiogenic - it comes from the decay of uranium-238, uranium-235 or thorium-232. In equilibrium, the ratio of the content of uranium-238 and radium-226 in the ore is equal to the ratio of their half-lives: (4.468·10 9 years)/(1617 years)=2.789·10 6 . Thus, for every three million atoms of uranium in nature, there is only one atom of radium. The microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements makes it possible to obtain radium-226 and other radium isotopes from uranium and thorium in practically unlimited quantities (kilograms, tons) and expand the scope of radium and its isotopes.

Currently, francium and its salts have no practical application, due to the short half-life. The longest-lived francium isotope known to date, 223 Fr, has a half-life of 22 minutes. Nevertheless, obtaining francium by the microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements and fixing the presence of francium in the processed samples on the devices (figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14), in the absence of francium in the feedstock, proves the general course of the transformation of elements. In the future, the use of francium for scientific and other purposes is not ruled out.

Actinium is one of the rarest radioactive elements in nature. Its total content in the earth's crust does not exceed 2600 tons, while, for example, the amount of radium is more than 40 million tons. Three isotopes of actinium have been found in nature: 225 Ac, 227 Ac, 228 Ac. Actinium accompanies uranium ores. Obtaining actinium from uranium ores by known traditional methods is impractical due to its low content in them, as well as its great similarity with the rare earth elements present there.

Significant amounts of the 227 Ac isotope are obtained by irradiating radium with neutrons in a reactor. 226 Ra(n, γ)→ 227 Ra(-β)→ 227 Ac. The yield, as a rule, does not exceed 2.15% of the initial amount of radium. The amount of actinium in this method of synthesis is calculated in grams. The 228 Ac isotope is produced by irradiating the 227 Ac isotope with neutrons.

227 Ac mixed with beryllium is a source of neutrons.

Ac-Be sources are characterized by a low yield of gamma quanta and are used in activation analysis for the determination of Mn, Si, Al in ores.

225 Ac is used to obtain 213 Bi, as well as for use in radioimmunotherapy.

227 Ac can be used in radioisotope energy sources.

228 Ac is used as a tracer in chemical research due to its high energy β-radiation.

A mixture of 228 Ac-228 Ra isotopes is used in medicine as an intense source of γ-radiation.

Actinium can serve as a powerful source of energy, which is still not used due to the high cost of actinium and the small amount of actinium obtained by known methods, as well as due to the difficulty of obtaining it by known methods. All traditional methods for obtaining and isolating actinium are costly, unprofitable, and hazardous to human health and the environment. Obtaining actinium by the microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements makes it possible to obtain actinium and its isotopes in a cheap and safe way in unlimited quantities (kilograms, tons, thousands of tons, etc.).

Protactinium

In view of the low content in the earth's crust (the content of the Earth's mass is 0.1 billionth of a percent), the element has so far had a very narrow application - an additive to nuclear fuel. From natural sources - residues from the processing of uranium resin - only protactinium-231 (231 Pa) can be obtained by traditional methods. In addition, 231 Pa traditional way can be obtained by irradiating thorium-230 (230 Th) with slow neutrons:

The isotope 233 Pa is also obtained from thorium:

As an additive to nuclear fuel, protactinium is added at the rate of 0.34 grams of protactinium per 1 ton of uranium, which greatly increases the energy value of uranium and the efficiency of uranium combustion (a mixture of uranium and protactinium). Obtaining protactinium by the microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements makes it possible to obtain protactinium cheaply at cost and in a safe way in unlimited quantities (kilograms, tons, thousands of tons, etc.). Obtaining protactinium by a microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements solves the issue of the availability of cheap energy, energy raw materials and a product with a high efficiency, and provides the need for protactinium in other areas of science and technology.

Various isotopes of thorium (thorium-227, thorium-228, thorium-230, thorium-234 and others), having different half-lives, not contained in natural thorium, obtained by the microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements, are of interest for research purposes, and are also of interest as energy sources and raw materials for obtaining other isotopes and elements.

Uranium and its isotopes

At the moment, 23 artificial radioactive isotopes of uranium are known with mass numbers from 217 to 242. The most important and valuable isotopes of uranium are uranium-233 and uranium-235. Uranium-233 (233 U, T 1/2 \u003d 1.59 10 5 years) is obtained by irradiating thorium-232 with neutrons and is capable of fission under the influence of thermal neutrons, which makes it a promising fuel for nuclear reactors:

But this process is extremely complicated, expensive and environmentally hazardous. The content of the valuable isotope uranium-235 (235 U) in natural uranium is low (0.72% of natural uranium), and its traditional separation from other uranium isotopes (for example, laser centrifugation) and isolation is associated with great technical, economic and environmental difficulties, as it requires high costs, expensive and complex equipment, and is unsafe for humans and the environment. The isotope uranium-233 (233 U) is not found in natural uranium, and its traditional production in nuclear reactors is associated with similar difficulties and dangers.

Uranium is widely distributed in nature. The content of uranium in the earth's crust is 0.0003% (wt.), The concentration in sea water is 3 µg/l. The amount of uranium in a layer of the lithosphere 20 km thick is estimated at 1.3·10 14 tons. World uranium production in 2009 amounted to 50,772 tons, world resources in 2009 amounted to 2,438,100 tons. Thus, the world reserves of uranium and the world production of natural uranium are quite large. The problem is that the main share of reserves and production (99.27%) falls on the natural uranium isotope uranium-238 (corresponding to the percentage of isotopes in natural uranium), i.e. to the least useful and least energetic isotope of uranium. In addition, the traditional separation of uranium isotopes from each other (in this case, uranium-235 from uranium-238) is extremely difficult, expensive and environmentally unsafe. According to the OECD, there are 440 commercial nuclear reactors operating in the world, which consume 67,000 tons of uranium per year. This means that its production provides only 60% of its consumption (the rest is recovered from old nuclear warheads). The most valuable in this case are uranium isotopes - uranium-233 and uranium-235 (nuclear fuel), for the sake of which spent fuel elements from nuclear power plants and nuclear warheads removed from combat duty are reused after processing. 238 U nuclei are divided upon capture only fast neutrons with an energy of at least 1 MeV. The 235 U and 233 U nuclei fission upon capture of both slow (thermal) and fast neutrons, and also fission spontaneously, which is especially important and valuable.

The microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements makes it possible to obtain in practically unlimited quantities from natural uranium (from the isotope uranium-238) rare and valuable isotopes of uranium - uranium-232, uranium-233, uranium-234, uranium-235, uranium-236, and others valuable chemical elements and their isotopes: neptunium-236, neptunium-237, neptunium-238, plutonium-236, plutonium-238, americium-241, protactinium-231, protactinium-234, thorium-227, thorium-228, thorium-230 , actinium-227, radium-226, radium-228, radon-222, polonium-209, polonium-210. The industrial, technical and energy value, as well as the sale market value of these obtained elements is much higher than the original element - uranium-238.

Neptunium

Neptunium is found on Earth only in trace amounts, it was obtained artificially from uranium through nuclear reactions.

By irradiating neptunium-237 with neutrons, weight amounts of isotopically pure plutonium-238 are obtained, which is used in small-sized radioisotope energy sources, in RTGs (RTG - radioisotope thermoelectric generator), in pacemakers, as a heat source in radioisotope energy sources and neutron sources . The critical mass of neptunium-237 is about 57 kg for pure metal, and thus this isotope can be practically used for the production of nuclear weapons.

Americium

Americium-241 is obtained by irradiating plutonium with neutrons:

Americium-241 is a valuable rare chemical element and isotope, its traditional production in nuclear reactors is associated with the usual difficulties and high cost for obtaining actinides, as a result, americium has a high market value, is in demand and can be used in various fields of science, industry and technology.

The microbiological method of transmutation of chemical elements makes it possible to obtain practically unlimited quantities of neptunium-236, neptunium-237, neptunium-238, plutonium-236, plutonium-238, americium-241 and other isotopes of neptunium, plutonium and americium.

Common abbreviations in the diagrams and tables below:

Uranium-238, 238 U - here - 238 is the relative atomic mass, that is, the total number of protons and neutrons.

P is a proton.

N or n is a neutron.

α - alpha particle, i.e. two protons and two neutrons.

(-α) - alpha particle emitted from an atom (from an element) in our reactions, while the serial number (nuclear charge) decreases by two units and the element turns into a lighter one, located through a cell in the periodic table of Mendeleev's elements (shift by two cells back). The relative atomic mass is then reduced by four units.

Beta decay is a transformation in which the ordinal number of an element (the nuclear charge) changes by one, while the relative atomic mass (the total number of protons and neutrons) remains constant.

(+β) - the emission of a positively charged positron particle, or the capture of a negatively charged electron by the nucleus: in both cases, the serial number (nucleus charge) of the element decreases by one.

The phenomena of emission of the so-called "delayed neutron" (more often than one or two) after beta decay are observed. At the same time, a new chemical element formed by beta decay, after the emission of a delayed neutron (neutrons), retains its new place and cell in the table of the periodic system of elements, since it retains the nuclear charge (number of protons), but loses in atomic mass, forming new , lighter, isotopes.

(-n) - "delayed neutron", a neutron emitted from an atom after beta decay, while the atomic mass of the new element is reduced by one.

(-2n) - two "delayed neutrons" emitted from an atom after beta decay, the atomic mass of the new element is reduced by two units.

(ă) - "delayed" alpha particle (type of isotopic decay) emitted from an atom (element) after beta decay. In this case, the serial number (nucleus charge) decreases by two units, and the relative atomic mass of the element decreases by 4 units.

There is another transmutation of a chemical element (shift two cells back according to the table of the periodic table of chemical elements).

T 1/2 or T is the half-life of an isotope of an element.

The authors carried out a series of successful reproducible experiments with various ores and raw materials. Raw materials containing radioactive elements were treated with an aqueous solution of bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus in the presence of elements with variable valence of any s, p, d and f elements that create a standard redox potential (for example, Sr 2+ , nitrogen N 5+ /N 3- , sulfur S 6+ /S 2- arsenic As 5+ /As 3+, iron Fe 3+ /Fe 2+, manganese Mn 4+ /Mn 2+, molybdenum Mo 6+ /Mo 2+, cobalt Co 3+ /Co 2+, vanadium V 5+ /V 4+ and others). Various bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus, iron-oxidizing and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (thermophilic and others) involved in the redox processes of metals were used, and a positive effect was always achieved. The authors carried out 2536 experiments. The obtained experimental data were statistically processed (see Tables 1, 2, 3, 4) and reflected in the schemes for obtaining various valuable isotopes of uranium, protactinium, thorium, actinium, radium, polonium and other elements (see figures 1 to 17, schemes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13). The schemes of reactions and isotopic transitions do not contradict, but confirm the existing theory of radioactive decays.

For the transmutation of chemical elements and the production of new elements and isotopes, Saudi Arabian sulfide ores containing uranium and thorium were used as raw materials for microbiological processing (table 1, figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). The ore of Saudi Arabia also contained the elements phosphorus, arsenic, vanadium, mainly in the oxidized form (phosphates, arsenates, vanadates), and iron - both in the oxidized and in the reduced form. Therefore, to create a high redox potential in the fermenter, the raw material was treated with Thiobacillus acidophilus strain DSM-700 microorganisms in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, which are in solution in the reduced form: Mn +4, Co +2, Fe +2, N -3, S -2 (in the form of salts), in their total mass 0.01% of the mass of the medium.

When growing microorganisms Thiobacillus acidophilus strain DSM-700, standard nutrient media were used (for example, Leten and Waksman media for Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, 9K medium and media for other iron and sulfur oxidizing bacteria). Elements of variable valence were added to standard nutrient media - transelements (elements carrying electrons, for example, Mg, Mn, Co, Mo, Zn, Cu, Fe in the form of salts) in their total mass of 0.01% of the mass of the medium, hydrolysis products of organic raw materials , for example, hydrolysis of waste from fish, meat, or timber processing (2% by mass, from the environment) and raw materials (uranium or thorium containing ores or radioactive waste in an amount of 1.5% by mass, from the environment). In a fermentation medium containing 10% raw material (ore), 10% solution of the culture medium with facultative autotrophic microorganisms selected at the exponential growth stage was added.

The transmutation process was carried out in ten fermentation shake flasks. The pH of the solution was adjusted with 10 normal sulfuric acid, the pH of the solution was maintained in the range of 0.8-1.0 in the process. The temperature of the process is 28-32 degrees Celsius. The redox potential (Eh) in the solution of the transmutation process in the logarithmic stage is 635 mV. Mixing speed 300 rpm. The ratio of the solid phase to the liquid was 1:10 (100 grams of ore in one liter of aqueous solution). Daily, every 24 hours, the pH and Eh of the solution, the concentration of chemical elements and isotopes in the solution were measured, and the vital activity of microorganisms was also monitored. The process was carried out for nine days. Methods of analysis of aqueous solutions and ore were used: to determine the content of elements, an X-ray fluorescence method was used, instrument type: CYP-02 "Renom FV"; S2 PICOFOX. The atomic adsorption method was also used. The isotopic composition was determined by mass spectroscopy. Charging characteristics of microbiological cells were determined by electrophoretic mobility on an automatic microscope Parmoquant-2. According to the instrument data, the qualitative and quantitative composition of the final products was determined. The results of the conducted and statistically processed experiments depending on the time of the process are shown in Table 1. In Fig. Figure 1 shows a spectrogram of the original ore from Saudi Arabia without microbiological treatment and without transformation of chemical elements. Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 show spectrograms of analyzes of the transmutation of chemical elements during the microbiological processing of Saudi Arabian ore, depending on the time of the process after 48 hours (2 days), 72 hours (3 days), 120 hours (5 days), after 120 hours (5 days), after 168 hours (7 days), after 192 hours (8 days), respectively.

Scheme 2. Microbiological production of protactinium-231 (231 Pa) from uranium-238 (238 U) in various ways.

Scheme 6. Microbiological production of radium-226 (226 Ra) and radium-228 (228 Ra) from uranium-238 (238 U) (see 6-1) and from natural thorium-232 (232 Th) (see 6 -2) respectively:

The method of carrying out the process is the same as in example 1. For the transmutation of chemical elements and the production of new elements and isotopes, uranium ore from Northwest Africa containing uranium, thorium, sulfur and arsenic in reduced form (metal sulfides) was used as a raw material for microbiological processing. , arsenides, sulfoarsenides). Therefore, in order to create a high redox potential, the raw material was treated with Thiobacillus aquaesulis strain DSM-4255 microorganisms in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, which are in solution in the oxidized form: N +5, P +5 (in the form of phosphates), As +5, S +6, Fe +3, Mn +7, in their total mass 0.01% of the mass of the medium. The redox potential (Eh) in the solution of the transmutation process in the logarithmic stage is 798 mV. The temperature of the process is 30-35 degrees Celsius, the pH of the medium is 2-2.5. The duration of the process is twenty days. The results of the conducted and statistically processed experiments, depending on the time of the process, are shown in Table 2. Spectrograms of analyzes of the transmutation of chemical elements during the microbiological processing of uranium ore in North-West Africa, depending on the time of the process, after 24 hours (1 day), after 144 hours ( 6 days), after 168 hours (7 days), after 192 hours (8 days), after 480 hours (20 days) are shown in figures 8, 9, 10, 11, respectively.

Scheme 1. Microbiological production of various valuable isotopes of uranium, protactinium, thorium, actinium, radium, polonium from uranium-238 (238 U):

Scheme 2. Obtaining uranium-233 (233 U) by microbiological method from uranium-238 (238 U) in various ways.

Scheme 4. Microbiological production of thorium-230 (230 Th) from uranium-238 (238 U).

Further, the process either stops (and 230 Th is released) if thorium-230 is the final goal of the process. Or the process continues until valuable and rare radioactive isotopes of radium (226 Ra), radon, astatine, polonium, bismuth, lead are obtained:

Scheme 5. Microbiological production of actinium-227 (227 Ac) from uranium-238 (238 U) in various ways.

Scheme 7. Obtaining the most valuable and stable isotopes of polonium (210 Po, 209 Po, 208 Po) by microbiological method from uranium-238 (238 U).

The method of carrying out the process is the same as in example 1. For the transmutation of chemical elements and the production of new elements and isotopes, Jordan uranium ore containing the elements uranium, thorium, phosphorus, arsenic, iron, vanadium both in oxidized form was used as a raw material for microbiological processing. (phosphates, arsenates, vanadates), and in reduced form. Therefore, to create a high redox potential, the raw material was treated with microorganisms Thiobacillus halophilus strain DSM-6132 in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, which have a redox ability: Rb +1, Sr +2, S 0 /S -2, Re +4 / Re +7 , As +3 /As +5 , Mn +4 /Mn +7 , Fe +2 /Fe +3 , N -3 /N +5 , P +5 , S -2 /S +6 in their total mass 0.01% of the mass of the medium. The redox potential (Eh) in the solution of the transmutation process in the logarithmic stage is 753 mV. The temperature of the process is 28-32 degrees Celsius, the pH of the medium is 2.0-2.5. The duration of the process is twenty days. The results of the conducted and statistically processed experiments, depending on the time of the process, are shown in Table 3. Spectrograms of the analyzes of the transmutation of chemical elements during the microbiological processing of Jordan uranium ore, depending on the time of the process, after 24 hours (1 day), after 120 hours (five days) , after 192 hours (8 days), are shown in figures 12, 13, 14, respectively.

Scheme 3. Microbiological production of protactinium-231 (231 Pa) from uranium-238 (238 U) in various ways.

Scheme 4. Microbiological production of thorium-230 (230 Th) from uranium-238 (238 U).

Further, the process either stops (and 230 Th is released) if thorium-230 is the final goal of the process. Or the process continues until valuable and rare radioactive isotopes of radium (226 Ra), radon, astatine, polonium, bismuth, lead are obtained:

Scheme 5. Microbiological production of actinium-227 (227 Ac) from uranium-238 (238 U) in various ways.

Diagram 6-1. Obtaining radium-226 (226 Ra) by microbiological method from uranium-238:

Scheme 7. Obtaining the most valuable and stable isotopes of polonium (210 Po, 209 Po, 208 Po) by microbiological method from uranium-238 (238 U).

The method of carrying out the process is the same as in example 1. For the transmutation of chemical elements and the production of new elements and isotopes, monazite thorium containing sand from the Indian Ocean coast, containing the elements thorium, phosphorus, arsenic, silicon, aluminum, and also cerium and other lanthanides, mostly in reduced form. Therefore, to create a high redox potential, the raw material was treated with Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strain DSM-14882 in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, which are in solution in the oxidized form: N +5, P +5, As +5, S +6, Fe + 3 , Mn +7 , in their total mass 0.01% of the mass of the medium. The redox potential (Eh) in the solution of the transmutation process in the logarithmic stage is 717 mV. The temperature of the process is 28-32 degrees Celsius, the pH of the medium is 1.0-1.5. The process takes ten days. The results of the conducted and statistically processed experiments, depending on the time of the process, are shown in Table 4. Spectrograms of the analyzes of the transmutation of chemical elements during the microbiological processing of thorium-containing sand of the Indian Ocean coast, depending on the time of the process, after 24 hours (1 day), after 120 hours ( five days), after 240 hours (ten days) are shown in figures 15, 16, 17, respectively.

Diagram 6-2. Obtaining radium-228 (228 Ra) by microbiological method from natural thorium-232:

Scheme 8. Obtaining various isotopes of thorium, actinium, radium, polonium by microbiological method from natural thorium-232 (232 Th):

The method of carrying out the process is the same as in example 1. For the transmutation of chemical elements and the production of new elements and isotopes, polonium-209, obtained in our process from actinides, was used as a raw material for microbiological processing, which turns (decays) further into isotopes of mercury, gold and platinum (Scheme 10). Raw materials were treated with microorganisms Thiobacillus aquaesulis strain DSM-4255 in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, with redox ability: Rb +1 , Sr +2 , S 0 /S -2 , Re +4 /Re +7 , As +3 / As +5 , Mn +4 /Mn +7 , Fe +2 /Fe +3 , N -3 /N +5 , P +5 , S -2 /S +6 in their total mass 0.01% of the mass of the medium . The redox potential (Eh) in the solution of the transmutation process in the logarithmic stage is 698 mV. The temperature of the process is 28-32 degrees Celsius, the pH of the medium is 2.0-2.5. The duration of the process is twenty days.

Based on the obtained experimental and statistically processed data, the authors deduced the following scheme:

Scheme 10. Obtaining stable isotopes of mercury and gold (197 Au) by a microbiological method with the initiation and acceleration of reactions from polonium-209 (209 Po):

.

The method of carrying out the process is the same as in example 1. For the transmutation of chemical elements and the production of new elements and isotopes, polonium-208, obtained in our process from actinides, was used as a raw material for microbiological processing, which turns (decays) further into isotopes of mercury, gold and platinum (Scheme 11). Raw materials were treated with microorganisms Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strain DSM-14882 in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, with redox ability: Rb +1 , Sr +2 , S 0 /S -2 , Re +4 /Re +7 , As +3 / As +5 , Mn +4 /Mn +7 , Fe +2 /Fe +3 , N -3 /N +5 , P +5 , S -2 /S +6 in their total mass 0.01% of the mass of the medium . In the solution of the transmutation process in the logarithmic stage Eh=753 mV. Microorganisms were used. The temperature of the process was 28-32 degrees Celsius, the pH of the medium was 1.0-1.5. The duration of the process is twenty days. Based on the obtained experimental and statistically processed data, the authors deduced the following scheme:

Scheme 11. Obtaining stable isotopes of mercury, thallium, platinum (195 Pt) and gold (197 Au) by microbiological method with initiation and acceleration of reactions from polonium-208:

The method of carrying out the process is the same as in example 1. To transmute chemical elements and obtain new elements and isotopes, plutonium samples were used as raw materials for microbiological processing in order to convert plutonium-239 into uranium-235, protactinium-231 and actinium-227 ( scheme 12). The raw material was treated with microorganisms Thiobacillus thioparus strain DSM-505 in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, with redox ability: Rb +1, Sr +2, S 0 /S -2, Re +4 /Re +7, As +3 /As +5 , Mn +4 /Mn +7 , Fe +2 /Fe +3 , N -3 /N +5 , P +5 , S -2 /S +6 in their total mass 0.01 % by weight of the medium. The redox potential (Eh) in the solution of the transmutation process in logarithmic

stages of the transmutation process Eh=759 mv. The temperature of the process is 28-32 degrees Celsius, the pH of the medium is 2.0-2.5. The duration of the process is twenty days. Based on the obtained experimental and statistically processed data, the authors deduced the following scheme:

Scheme 12. Obtaining uranium-235, thorium-231, protactinium-231 and actinium-227 by a microbiological method with acceleration of decay reactions from plutonium-239 (weapon-grade plutonium can be used, or plutonium is a by-product of nuclear combustion of NPP fuel rods to be disposed of):

You can stop the process at any stage, obtaining 235 U, or 231 Th, or 231 Pa, or 227 Ac, or mixtures thereof in various proportions. Or you can continue the process of converting elements and isotopes from actinium-227 to 210 Po, 209 Po, 208 Po, obtaining intermediate elements, according to scheme 7-1.

The method of carrying out the process is the same as in example 1. To transmute chemical elements and obtain new elements and isotopes, plutonium samples were used as raw materials for microbiological processing in order to convert plutonium-241 into americium-241 and neptunium-237 (Scheme 13). 241 Pu, a by-product of nuclear reactions during the combustion of fuel rods at nuclear power plants, subject to disposal, was taken as nuclear waste and a by-product of industrial combustion of uranium. Raw materials were treated with microorganisms Thiobacillus tepidarius strain DSM-3134 in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, with redox ability: Rb +1 , Sr +2 , S 0 /S -2 , Re +4 /Re +7 , As +3 / As +5 , Mn +4 /Mn +7 , Fe +2 /Fe +3 , N -3 /N +5 , P +5 , S -2 /S +6 in their total mass 0.01% of the mass of the medium . Eh=736 mV. The temperature of the process is 28-32 degrees Celsius, the pH of the medium is 2.0-2.5.

Scheme 13. Microbiological production of americium-241 (241 Am) and neptunium-237 (237 Np) from plutonium-241 with initiation and acceleration of decay reactions:

The process can be stopped or slowed down at the stage of obtaining americium-241 with the selection of the latter. Example 9

This example shows the intensification of the process of transmutation of chemical elements when it slows down under limiting factors. The method of carrying out the process and raw materials are the same as in example 2. Control variant: Uranium ore from North West Africa was also used as raw material, but the difference from example 2 consisted in a higher content of ore in solution: the ratio of solid phase (ore) to liquid phase was 1:3 (100 grams of ore in 300 ml of an aqueous solution). Raw materials were treated with microorganisms Thiobacillus aquaesulis strain DSM-4255 in an aqueous solution of elements with variable valence, which are in solution in oxidized form: N +5 , P +5 (in the form of phosphates), As +5 , S +6 , Fe +3 , Mn +7, in their total mass 0.01% of the mass of the medium, as in example 2. Eh=410 mV. The temperature of the process is 30-35 degrees Celsius, the pH of the medium is 2.0-2.5. The duration of the process is twenty days. The charge of bacteria is close to zero. The electrophoretic mobility (EPM) of microbial cells is 0.01 V -1 × cm 2 × sec -1 . The initial content of uranium-238 in the medium was 280 g/L. On the fifth day of the process, the content of uranium-238 dropped to 200.52 mg/l, but protactinium-231, actinium-227 and polonium isotopes were not found in the medium, while the isotopes of thorium-234, protactinium-234, protactinium-233, uranium -234 (primary products of uranium-238 transmutation). The processes of transmutation of uranium-238 and the formation of new elements and isotopes were slowed down in time compared to example 2, in which the ratio of the solid phase (ore) to the liquid phase was 1:10 (100 grams of ore in 1000 ml of an aqueous solution). The slowdown of the process is associated with an increased concentration of metal ions in solution with a small amount of water per ore. Experimental variant: In the same water-limited solution, in which the ratio of the solid phase (ore) to the liquid phase was 1:3 (100 grams of ore in 300 ml of an aqueous solution), an additional 0.001 g / l of polyampholyte - polyacrylic acid caprolactam ( ratio of acrylic acid to caprolactam 9:1). The electrophoretic mobility (EPM) of microbial cells is equal to 0.89 V -1 × cm 2 × sec -1 , the charge of microorganisms has shifted from the isoelectric point to the negative side. Eh=792 mV On the fifth day, the content of uranium-238 in the solution became equal to 149.40 mg/l, isotopes appeared - products of further decay: uranium-232, uranium-233, protactinium-231, actinium-227, radium-226, polonium -210, 209 and 208 are all in large numbers. The process has been accelerated. On the basis of experimental data, a general scheme of various directions and chains of decay of uranium-238 was obtained when various valuable isotopes of uranium, protactinium, thorium, actinium, radium, polonium and other elements are obtained from it by microbiological method (figure 18).

The energy of the electronic transition (keV), which was used to determine the chemical elements by the X-ray fluorescence method (figures 1 to 17), are shown in table 5.

1. A microbiological method for the transmutation of chemical elements and the conversion of isotopes of chemical elements, characterized in that radioactive raw materials containing radioactive chemical elements or their isotopes are treated with an aqueous suspension of bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus in the presence of elements with variable valence.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the method is carried out with the production of polonium, radon, francium, radium, actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, neptunium, americium, nickel, manganese, bromine, hafnium, ytterbium, mercury, gold, platinum and their isotopes.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that ores or radioactive waste from nuclear cycles are used as radioactive raw materials containing radioactive chemical elements.