U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Scientific and Technical Information
A Method for Monitoring Deposition at a Solid Cathode in an Electrorefiner for a Two-Species System Using Electrode Potentials
Abstract
Currently, process monitoring of spent nuclear fuel electrorefining relies upon sampling and destructive analysis methods coupled with extrapolative thermodynamic process models for non-interrupted operations. Corrections to those models are performed infrequently, jeopardizing both the control of the process and safeguarding of nuclear material. Furthermore, the timeliness of obtaining the results is inadequate for application of international safeguards protocol. Alternatively, a system that dynamically utilizes electrical data such as electrode potentials and cell current can hypothetically be used to achieve real-time process monitoring and more robust control as well as improved safeguards. Efforts to develop an advanced model of the electrorefiner to date have focused on a forward modeling approach by using feed and salt compositions to determine the product composition, cell current and electrode potential response. Alternatively, an inverse model was developed, and reported here, to predict the product deposition rates on a cathode using the cell current, cathode potential, and fundamental relations of electrochemistry. The model was applied to the following cases: pure uranium deposition, co-deposition of uranium and plutonium, and co-deposition of uranium and zirconium. The deposition rates predicted by the inverse model were compared to those of a forward model, ERAD.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1111520
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-13-29020
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- Resource Type:
- Conference
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Global 2013,Salt Lake City, Utah,09/29/2013,10/03/2013
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; electrorefining
Citation Formats
Rappleye, D. S., Yim, M. -S., Simpson, M. F., and Cumberland, R. M. A Method for Monitoring Deposition at a Solid Cathode in an Electrorefiner for a Two-Species System Using Electrode Potentials. United States: N. p., 2013.
Web.
Rappleye, D. S., Yim, M. -S., Simpson, M. F., & Cumberland, R. M. A Method for Monitoring Deposition at a Solid Cathode in an Electrorefiner for a Two-Species System Using Electrode Potentials. United States.
Rappleye, D. S., Yim, M. -S., Simpson, M. F., and Cumberland, R. M. 2013.
"A Method for Monitoring Deposition at a Solid Cathode in an Electrorefiner for a Two-Species System Using Electrode Potentials". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1111520.
@article{osti_1111520,
title = {A Method for Monitoring Deposition at a Solid Cathode in an Electrorefiner for a Two-Species System Using Electrode Potentials},
author = {Rappleye, D. S. and Yim, M. -S. and Simpson, M. F. and Cumberland, R. M.},
abstractNote = {Currently, process monitoring of spent nuclear fuel electrorefining relies upon sampling and destructive analysis methods coupled with extrapolative thermodynamic process models for non-interrupted operations. Corrections to those models are performed infrequently, jeopardizing both the control of the process and safeguarding of nuclear material. Furthermore, the timeliness of obtaining the results is inadequate for application of international safeguards protocol. Alternatively, a system that dynamically utilizes electrical data such as electrode potentials and cell current can hypothetically be used to achieve real-time process monitoring and more robust control as well as improved safeguards. Efforts to develop an advanced model of the electrorefiner to date have focused on a forward modeling approach by using feed and salt compositions to determine the product composition, cell current and electrode potential response. Alternatively, an inverse model was developed, and reported here, to predict the product deposition rates on a cathode using the cell current, cathode potential, and fundamental relations of electrochemistry. The model was applied to the following cases: pure uranium deposition, co-deposition of uranium and plutonium, and co-deposition of uranium and zirconium. The deposition rates predicted by the inverse model were compared to those of a forward model, ERAD.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1111520},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}