Waste removal in pyrochemical fuel processing for the Integral Fast Reactor

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:10115692

Ackerman, J P; Johnson, T R; Laidler, J J

Electrorefining in a molten salt electrolyte is used in the Integral Fast Reactor fuel cycle to recover actinides from spent fuel. Processes that are being developed for removing the waste constituents from the electrorefiner and incorporating them into the waste forms are described in this paper. During processing, halogen, chalcogen, alkali, alkaline earth, and rare earth fission products build up in the molten salt as metal halides and anions, and fuel cladding hulls and noble metal fission products remain as metals of various particle sizes. Essentially all transuranic actinides are collected as metals on cathodes, and are converted to new metal fuel. After processing, fission products and other waste are removed to a metal and a mineral waste form. The metal waste form contains the cladding hulls, noble metal fission products, and (optionally) most rare earths in a copper or stainless steel matrix. The mineral waste form contains fission products that have been removed from the salt into a zeolite or zeolite-derived matrix.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 10115692
• Report Number(s): ANL/CMT/CP--80021; CONF-940204--3; ON: DE94005388
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050800
052001
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210500
ACTINIDES
ELECTROLYTES
ELECTROREFINING
IFR REACTOR
MATERIALS RECOVERY
POWER REACTORS
BREEDING
PYROCHEMICAL REPROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REMOVAL
SALTS
SPENT FUELS
SPENT FUELS REPROCESSING
WASTE PROCESSING