30 Jahre Institut für Heiße Chemie im Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe [30 Years Institute for Hot Chemistry at the Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe]

The Institute for Hot Chemistry in Karlsruhe was founded 1959, to support the development of a reprocessing process for spent nuclear fuel. Based on the PUREX process, variants and improvements for the combination of extraction and redox steps were investigated from laboratory to near-commercial pilot scale. By the end of nuclear reactor research, the re-named institute for technical chemistry turned to new topics in environmental and energy related research. During the transition period, the institute participated in the GALLEX collaboration, an international basic physics experiment with the construction and operation of a radiochemical solar neutrino detector.