Demonstration of Electroreduction Technology to Convert GNF Uranium Oxide Powder to Metal
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Global Nuclear Fuel – Americas LLC, Castle Hayne, NC (United States)
Global Nuclear Fuel – Americas LLC (GNF) has partnered with Argonne National Laboratory to demonstrate electroreduction of uranium oxides produced by deconversion of UF6 to uranium metal through the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program under the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate the domestic production of metallic advanced reactor fuels. Electroreduction of uranium oxide was first demonstrated and patented by Argonne in the early 2000s as a technology to convert used oxide nuclear fuel from light water reactors to metal for further fuel reprocessing. More recently, electroreduction has been proposed as a front-end technology for metallization of uranium oxides produced by deconversion of UF6 and for scrap recovery of oxide materials. During the electroreduction process, UO2 powder is contained in a stainless-steel mesh basket with a cathode lead located in the center of the UO2 bed. The basket is immersed in lithium chloride molten salt electrolyte containing 1 wt% lithium oxide along with a platinum anode and a nickel/nickel oxide (Ni/NiO) reference electrode. Current is applied to the cell between the cathode and anode to reduce the UO2 to metallic uranium via a solid-state reduction reaction. Oxide ions released from the UO2 during reduction are transported through the salt to the anode where oxygen gas is evolved. Once reduction is complete, the basket containing the metallicized uranium is removed from the salt and can be processed to remove the salt and consolidate the uranium into an ingot for use in metallic fuel fabrication. This project was performed to provide evidence of the electroreduction technology readiness level for metallization of UO2 powder, identify and retire technical risks for industrialization of electroreduction, and accelerate the path to commercialization for metallic fast reactor fuel production. To that end, five electroreduction tests were performed with UO2 provided by GNF and the resulting product was analyzed for the extent of conversion to metal and for impurity contents of the metal product to verify that electroreduction does not introduce impurities that would prevent use of the product in metallic fuel fabrication.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Global Nuclear Fuel – Americas LLC, Castle Hayne, NC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 3005014
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/CFC--C2024-24534; CRADA-A24534; 200652
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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OSTI ID:801643