Selective Reduction of Active Metal Chlorides from Molten LiCl-KCl using Lithium Drawdown
In support of optimizing electrorefining technology for treating spent nuclear fuel, lithium drawdown has been investigated for separating actinides from molten salt electrolyte. Drawdown reaction selectivity is a major issue that needs to be investigated, since the goal is to remove actinides while leaving the fission products in the salt. A series of lithium drawdown tests with surrogate fission product chlorides was run to obtain selectivity data with non-radioactive salts, develop a predictive model, and draw conclusions about the viability of using this process with actinide-loadd salt. Results of tests with CsCl, LaCl3, CeCl3, and NdCl3 are reported here. An equilibrium model has been formulated and fit to the experimental data. Excellent fits to the data were achieved. Based on analysis and results obtained to date, it is concluded that clean separation between minor actinides and lanthanides will be difficult to achieve using lithium drawdown.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1061019
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-11-20888
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Vol. 44, Issue 7; ISSN 1738--5733
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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