Efficacy of a solution-based approach for making sodalite waste forms for an oxide reduction salt utilized in the reprocessing of used uranium oxide fuel

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.09.042· OSTI ID:1177662

Riley, Brian J. ^[1]; Pierce, David A. ^[1]; Frank, Steven M. ^[2]; Matyáš, Josef ^[1]; Burns, Carolyne A. ^[1]

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1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
2. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

This paper describes the various approaches attempted to make solution-derived sodalite with a LiCl-Li₂O oxide reduction salt used to dissolve used uranium oxide fuel so the uranium can be recovered and recycled. The approaches include modified sol-gel and solutionbased synthesis processes. As-made products were mixed with 5 and 10 mass% of a Na₂O-B₂O₃- SiO₂ glass binder and these, along with product without a binder, were heated using either a cold-press-and-sinter method or hot uniaxial pressing. The results demonstrate the limitation of sodalite yield due to the fast intermediate reactions between Na+ and Cl- to form halite in solution and Li₂O and SiO₂ to form lithium silicates (e.g., Li₂SiO₃ or Li₂Si₂O₅) in the calcined and sintered pellets. The results show that pellets can be made with high sodalite fractions in the crystalline product (~92 mass%) and low porosities using a solution-based approach and this LiCl-Li₂O salt but that the incorporation of Li into the sodalite is low.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• Grant/Contract Number: DE-AC07-05ID14517; AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1177662
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1246593
• Report Number(s): INL/JOU-14-33815; PII: S0022311514006321; TRN: US1500494
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 459, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
electrochemical
lithium chloride
sodalite