Molten salt extraction of transuranic and reactive fission products from used uranium oxide fuel
Used uranium oxide fuel is detoxified by extracting transuranic and reactive fission products into molten salt. By contacting declad and crushed used uranium oxide fuel with a molten halide salt containing a minor fraction of the respective uranium trihalide, transuranic and reactive fission products partition from the fuel to the molten salt phase, while uranium oxide and non-reactive, or noble metal, fission products remain in an insoluble solid phase. The salt is then separated from the fuel via draining and distillation. By this method, the bulk of the decay heat, fission poisoning capacity, and radiotoxicity are removed from the used fuel. The remaining radioactivity from the noble metal fission products in the detoxified fuel is primarily limited to soft beta emitters. The extracted transuranic and reactive fission products are amenable to existing technologies for group uranium/transuranic product recovery and fission product immobilization in engineered waste forms.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- Assignee:
- U.S. Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
- Patent Number(s):
- 8,734,738
- Application Number:
- 13/666,232; TRN: US1400435
- OSTI ID:
- 1133050
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: 2012 Nov 01
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Separation of uranium from (Th,U)O.sub.2 solid solutions
|
patent | September 1976 |
Process to separate transuranic elements from nuclear waste
|
patent | March 1989 |
Uranium chloride extraction of transuranium elements from LWR fuel
|
patent | August 1992 |
Similar Records
Transuranic Waste Burning Potential of Thorium Fuel in a Fast Reactor - 12423
Phase Equilibria in Systems Relevant to Pyroprocessing