Effect and measurement of residual water in CaCl2 intended for use as electrolyte in molten salt electrochemical processing

Faulkner, Emma; Monreal, Marisa; Jackson, Jay Matthew; Simpson, Michael F.

doi:10.1007/s10967-020-07413-0

Effect and measurement of residual water in CaCl₂ intended for use as electrolyte in molten salt electrochemical processing

Journal Article · Sat Oct 10 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07413-0· OSTI ID:1893659

Faulkner, Emma ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[1]

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

We report CaCl₂ has applications for electrochemical processing of nuclear materials. Thermal dehydration leads to formation of oxide ions, which are shown to react and cause precipitation of dissolved CeCl₃ that was selected as a surrogate for actinide chlorides. Thus, measurement of residual water in CaCl₂ is an essential capability. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was shown to underestimate starting water concentration. Subsequent analysis of solid samples via acid–base titration and cyclic voltammetry (CV) of the molten salt yielded consistent values within 5% for residual water. Hydroxides were shown to be unstable, thus oxygen is retained as oxide ions. Thus, total water in a sample of CaCl₂ can be quantified by combining TGA with with either CV of molten salt or titration of salt samples. The importance of quantifying residual water in the salt was demonstrated by showing that cerium chloride (surrogate for actinide chlorides) will react with oxide ions in CaCl₂ to form insoluble oxides and oxychlorides.

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 1893659

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 22981683

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-20-24704

Journal Information:: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 326; ISSN 0236-5731

Publisher:: SpringerCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Effect and measurement of residual water in CaCl2 intended for use as electrolyte in molten salt electrochemical processing

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References (12)

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Effect and measurement of residual water in CaCl₂ intended for use as electrolyte in molten salt electrochemical processing