Pyrometallurgical processes for recovery of actinide elements
A metallic fuel alloy, nominally U-20-Pu-lOZr, is the key element of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) fuel cycle. Metallic fuel permits the use of an innovative, simple pyrometallurgical process, known as pyroprocessing, (the subject of this report), which features fused salt electrorefining of the spent fuel. Electrorefining separates the actinide elements from fission products, without producing a separate stream of plutonium. The plutonium-bearing product is contaminated with higher actinides and with a minor amount of rare earth fission products, making it diversion resistant while still suitable as a fuel material in the fast spectrum of the IFR core. The engineering-scale demonstration of this process will be conducted in the refurbished EBR-II Fuel Cycle Facility, which has entered the start-up phase. An additional pyrometallurgical process is under development for extracting transuranic (TRU) elements from Light Water Reactor (LWR) spent fuel in a form suitable for use as a feed to the IFR fuel cycle. Four candidate extraction processes have been investigated and shown to be chemically feasible. The main steps in each process are oxide reduction with calcium or lithium, regeneration of the reductant and recycle of the salt, and separation of the TRU product from the bulk uranium. Two processes, referred to as the lithium and salt transport (calcium reductant) processes, have been selected for engineering-scale demonstration, which is expected to start in late 1993. An integral part of pyroprocessing development is the treatment and packaging of high-level waste materials arising from the operations, along with the qualification of these waste forms for disposal in a geologic repository.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 10115890
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/CMT/CP-81050; CONF-940215-4; ON: DE94005385
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International symposium on actinides: processing and materials,San Francisco, CA (United States),27 Feb - 3 Mar 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Pyrochemical recovery of actinide elements from spent light water reactor fuel
The integral fast reactor fuel cycle
Related Subjects
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
SPENT FUELS
PYROCHEMICAL REPROCESSING
ACTINIDES
MATERIALS RECOVERY
ELECTROREFINING
FUEL CYCLE
IFR REACTOR
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
PACKAGING
WASTE FORMS
FISSION PRODUCTS
EBR-2 REACTOR
WATER COOLED REACTORS
EXTRACTION
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
050800
210500
SPENT FUELS REPROCESSING
POWER REACTORS
BREEDING