Effects of GdCl{sub 3} on U Electrochemical Properties in LiCl-KCl-UCl{sub 3}-GdCl{sub 3} Salt
- Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284 (United States)
Studies on pyro-processing technology have been stimulated in several countries including the United State, Russia, France, Japan, South Korea, and India. The main purpose of this technology is to treat the irradiated nuclear fuel, reduce volume of the nuclear waste, recycle actinides, and close the fast reactor fuel cycle. Therefore, ongoing researches and developments are expected. In pyro-processing, the most important process is an electro-refiner (ER) where uranium and minor actinides are separated on electrode surface while rare earth fission products are accumulated in LiCl- KCl eutectic salt. Due to the fact that the recovery of the U and actinide (An) materials are conducted via an electrolysis, many researchers have been investigating fundamental properties of U in LiCl- KCl system by using various electrochemical techniques. The resulting datasets are useful for effective system operation and development of safeguards in ER system. However, these values have been measured in pure UCl{sub 3} system in LiCl- KCl salt, which may not be practical to the real ER system owing to the fact that a variety of other fission products including An and lanthanide (Ln) are coexisting in the ER system. Therefore, in this work, gadolinium (Gd) was selected as a surrogate material for An or Ln materials in ER system. This is because that Gd has similar physical characteristics to Ln and An elements such as ionic size and reduction potential. By conducting electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV), open circuit potential (OCP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), effects of Gd coexistence on the electrochemical, thermodynamic, and kinetic properties of U were observed. It is hoped that this study will help us further understanding fundamental effect of the Ln/An effect on LiCl- KCl-UCl{sub 3}, yielding closer to the practical ER unit operation.
- OSTI ID:
- 23047367
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 116; Conference: 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Nuclear Society, San Francisco, CA (United States), 11-15 Jun 2017; Other Information: Country of input: France; 12 refs.; available from American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (US); ISSN 0003-018X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
RADIOCHEMISTRY AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
ELECTRODES
ELECTROLYSIS
EUTECTICS
FAST REACTORS
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL CYCLE
IMPEDANCE
IRRADIATION
KINETICS
MATERIALS RECOVERY
NUCLEAR FUELS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SAFEGUARDS
SPECTROSCOPY
THERMODYNAMICS
URANIUM CHLORIDES
VOLTAMETRY