Treatment of plutonium process residues by molten salt oxidation

Conference · Thu Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1999

OSTI ID:334317

Stimmel, J; Wishau, R; Ramsey, K B; Montoya, A; Brock, J ^[1]; Heslop, M ^[2]; Wernly, K ^[3]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
2. Naval Surface Warfare Center (United States). Indian Head Div.
3. Molten Salt Oxidation Corp. (United States)

Molten Salt Oxidation (MSO) is a thermal process that can remove more than 99.999% of the organic matrix from combustible {sup 238}Pu material. Plutonium processing residues are injected into a molten salt bed with an excess of air. The salt (sodium carbonate) functions as a catalyst for the conversion of the organic material to carbon dioxide and water. Reactive species such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, sulfur, phosphorous and arsenic in the organic waste react with the molten salt to form the corresponding neutralized salts, NaF, NaCl, NaBr, NaI, Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4}, Na{sub 3}PO{sub 4} and NaAsO{sub 2} or Na{sub 3}AsO4. Plutonium and other metals react with the molten salt and air to form metal salts or oxides. Saturated salt will be recycled and aqueous chemical separation will be used to recover the {sup 238}Pu. The Los Alamos National Laboratory system, which is currently in the conceptual design stage, will be scaled down from current systems for use inside a glovebox.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 334317
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--99-532; CONF-990201--; ON: DE99002220
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
DESIGN
GLOVEBOXES
MOLTEN SALT WASTE GASIFICATION PROCESS
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
PLUTONIUM
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING