UO2 solubility and chemical interactions in molten LiCl-Li2O

Gonzalez, Mario Alberto; Leavitt, Cameron; Holland, Justin M.; Simpson, Michael F.

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155220

UO₂ solubility and chemical interactions in molten LiCl-Li₂O

Journal Article · Wed Jun 05 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155220· OSTI ID:2441236

^[1]; Leavitt, Cameron ^[1]; Holland, Justin M. ^[2]; ^[1]

Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant (Y-12), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Here, this study investigated the solubility of UO₂ in LiCl-2 wt% Li₂O at 650 °C with O₂ partial pressures up to 114 torr. Experiments were run in which UO₂ powder was contacted with the molten salt for up to 120 h. Salt samples were taken and analyzed for U and corrosion product concentration using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and for Li₂O concentration using titration. The highest measured U concentration in the salt was 0.06 wt%, and O₂ partial pressure was observed to have little to no effect on the solubility. Increasing O₂ partial pressure did increase the concentration of corrosion products in the salt. The concentration of Li₂O in the molten salt progressively decreased with time in contact with UO₂. This can be explained by the formation of Li₂UO₄ via reaction of UO₂ with Li₂O.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant (Y-12), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0001942

OSTI ID:: 2441236

Report Number(s):: IROS95706

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Vol. 599; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (16)

Predominance diagrams of uranium and plutonum species in both lithium chloride–potassium chloride eutectic and calcium chloride Brown, L. D.; Abdulaziz, R.; Simons, S. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol. 43, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-013-0611-9	journal	August 2013
Alternate Anodes for the Electrolytic Reduction of UO2 Merwin, Augustus; Chidambaram, Dev Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 46, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-014-2633-2	journal	November 2014
Colour performance investigation of a Cr2O3 green pigment prepared via the thermal decomposition of CrOOH Liang, Shu-ting; Zhang, Hong-ling; Luo, Min-ting Ceramics International, Vol. 40, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2013.08.107	journal	April 2014
Underpotential deposition of Li in a molten LiCl–Li2O electrolyte for the electrochemical reduction of U from uranium oxides Hur, Jin-Mok; Jeong, Sang Mun; Lee, Hansoo Electrochemistry Communications, Vol. 12, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2010.03.012	journal	May 2010
Electrochemical behavior of a platinum anode for reduction of uranium oxide in a LiCl molten salt Jeong, Sang Mun; Shin, Ho-Sup; Cho, Soo-Haeng Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 54, Issue 26 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2009.05.080	journal	November 2009
Corrosion behavior of Fe–Ni–Cr alloys in the molten salt of LiCl–Li2O at high temperature Cho, S. H.; Zhang, J. S.; Shin, Y. J. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 325, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2003.10.011	journal	February 2004
Identification, measurement, and mitigation of key impurities in LiCl-Li2O used for direct electrolytic reduction of UO2 Gonzalez, Mario; Burak, Adam; Guo, Shaoqiang Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 510 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.08.020	journal	November 2018
Study of entrainment of Li2O in product from direct electrolytic reduction of UO2 in molten LiCl–Li2O. Part 1: Post-processing and analysis techniques Burak, Adam; Chamberlain, Jarom; Simpson, M. F. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 529 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151913	journal	February 2020
Electrochemical processing of spent nuclear fuels: An overview of oxide reduction in pyroprocessing technology Choi, Eun-Young; Jeong, Sang Mun Progress in Natural Science: Materials International, Vol. 25, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnsc.2015.11.001	journal	December 2015
Electrochemical Study on the Reduction Mechanism of Uranium Oxide in a LiCl-Li₂O Molten Salt Seo, Chung Seok; Park, Sung Bin; Park, Byung Heung Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, Vol. 43, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1080/18811248.2006.9711137	journal	May 2006
Electrolytic Reduction of Spent Light Water Reactor Fuel Bench-Scale Experiment Results Herrmann, Steven; Li, Shelly; Simpson, Michael Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, Vol. 44, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/18811248.2007.9711295	journal	March 2007
Electrochemical Reduction of UO[sub 2] in Molten CaCl[sub 2] or LiCl Sakamura, Yoshiharu; Kurata, Masaki; Inoue, Tadashi Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 153, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2160430	journal	January 2006
Electroanalytical Measurements of Oxide Ions in Molten CaCl₂ on W electrode Zhang, Chao; Rappleye, Devin; Nelson, Art Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 168, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ac208e	journal	September 2021
Separation and Recovery of Uranium Metal from Spent Light Water Reactor Fuel Via Electrolytic Reduction and Electrorefining Herrmann, S. D.; Li, S. X. Nuclear Technology, Vol. 171, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.13182/NT171-247	journal	September 2010
A Conceptual Study of Pyroprocessing for Recovering Actinides from Spent Oxide Fuels Yoo, Jae-Hyung; Seo, Chung-Seok; Kim, Eung-Ho Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Vol. 40, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.5516/NET.2008.40.7.581	journal	December 2008
Pyroprocessing Technology Development at Kaeri Lee, Han-Soo; Park, Geun-Il; Kang, Kweon-Ho Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Vol. 43, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.5516/NET.2011.43.4.317	journal	August 2011

Similar Records

Solubility of Li/sub 2/S in LiF-LiCl-LiBr electrolyte: measurements and calculations

Conference · Fri Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1982 · OSTI ID:6458579

Solubility products of metal sulfides in molten salts. II. Measurements and calculations for lead sulfide in the LiCl-KCl and the LiCl-LiF eutectic compositions

Journal Article · Fri Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1979 · Metall. Trans., B; (United States) · OSTI ID:5572187

CsCl Separation From a LiCl-CsCl Mixture by Using a Crystallization Approach

Conference · Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · OSTI ID:21326046

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Electrolytic reduction
Molten salt
Oxide reduction
Pyroprocessing
UO2
Uranium oxide

UO2 solubility and chemical interactions in molten LiCl-Li2O

Citation Formats

References (16)

Similar Records

Related Subjects

UO₂ solubility and chemical interactions in molten LiCl-Li₂O