Supporting and Improving Sellafield Purex Operations: Recent Work on Reductive Plutonium-Uranium Separations Using Ferrous Sulphamate and Hydroxylamine
- Nexia Solutions Ltd., Sellafield, Seascale, CA20 1PG (United Kingdom)
- British Nuclear Group, Sellafield, Seascale, CA20 1PG (United Kingdom)
The separation of plutonium in spent fuel processing through reductive stripping is a very well established technology. Although a very effective reagent for reductive stripping of Pu, Ferrous Sulphamate (FeSM) adds significantly to non-evaporable salt-bearing effluent, a situation exacerbated due to its super-stoichiometric consumption in the process. The process chemistry which leads to excessive ferrous consumption - commonly termed the 'box effect' - is a complex interplay of chemical reactions and mass transfer. We have developed a chemical model to describe the 'box effect' and incorporated it within powerful solvent extraction process models to describe and replicate the process in a counter-current mixer-settler battery at plant and laboratory scale. The chemical and process models have been validated against lab-scale experimental and plant operational data and can, therefore, be used to help justify flowsheet changes and examine a range of mal-operation scenarios to support continued operation of the plant. A programme of work to partially replace the FeSM feed with hydroxylamine (HAN) and thereby reduce waste arisings is well advanced. Laboratory and modelling work has furthered our understanding of the complex process chemistry of the Pu/Fe/HAN system, and flowsheet testing has shown that Fe/HAN reductive stripping can be as efficient as FeSM only stripping. Flowsheet trials on a glovebox-housed miniature mixer-settler rig have been undertaken to validate process models of a U/Pu split contactor operating under FeSM only, mixed FeSM/HAN conditions and mal-operation conditions. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21210687
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-06407; TRN: US09V1115081149
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2006 Symposium - WM'06 - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 2 Mar 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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