Pyroprocessing of Oxidized Sodium-Bonded Fast Reactor Fuel -- an Experimental Study of Treatment Options for Degraded EBR-II Fuel
An experimental study was conducted to assess pyrochemical treatment options for degraded EBR-II fuel. As oxidized material, the degraded fuel would need to be converted back to metal to enable electrorefining within an existing electrometallurgical treatment process. A lithium-based electrolytic reduction process was studied to assess the efficacy of converting oxide materials to metal with a particular focus on the impact of zirconium oxide and sodium oxide on this process. Bench-scale electrolytic reduction experiments were performed in LiCl-Li2O at 650 °C with combinations of manganese oxide (used as a surrogate for uranium oxide), zirconium oxide, and sodium oxide. The experimental study illustrated how zirconium oxide and sodium oxide present different challenges to a lithium-based electrolytic reduction system for conversion of select metal oxides to metal.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1133876
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-13-28052
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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