Dissolution flowsheet for high flux isotope reactor fuel at SRS

Journal Article · Tue Apr 02 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Separation Science and Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2018.1559861· OSTI ID:1513686

Daniel, William E. ^[1]; Rudisill, Tracy S. ^[1]; O’Rourke, Patrick E. ^[1]; Karay, Nicholas S. ^[1]

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1. Savannah River National Lab, Aiken, SC (United States)

H-Canyon at Savannah River Site has started dissolving High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) fuel as part of the Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) processing campaign. Each HFIR fuel core contains inner and outer fuel elements fabricated from uranium oxide (U₃O₈) dispersed in a continuous Al phase. Fuels fabricated in this manner, like other SNF’s processed in H-Canyon, dissolve by the same general mechanisms with similar gas generation rates including the production of H₂. The objective of this work was to identify flowsheet conditions through literature review and laboratory experimentation to safely and efficiently dissolve the HFIR fuel in H-Canyon. In conclusion, the work showed that a full HFIR core could be dissolved using nominally 0.002 M Hg to catalyze the dissolution and the margin between the predicted H₂ concentration and the calculated Lower Flammability Limit (LFL) was greater when the dissolving solution was allowed to boil for 45 min prior to initiating the Hg addition.

• Research Organization: Savannah River National Lab (SRNL), Aiken, SC (United States); Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC09-08SR22470
• OSTI ID: 1513686
• Report Number(s): SRNL-STI--2018-00422
• Journal Information: Separation Science and Technology, Journal Name: Separation Science and Technology Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 54; ISSN 0149-6395
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
H-Canyon
High flux isotope reactor fuel
dissolution