THE REMOVAL OF URANIUM AND THORIUM FROM FUELED-GRAPHITE MATERIALS BY CHLORINATION

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1964

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4035560· OSTI ID:4035560

Cook, J. L.; Hamner, R. L.

A nondestructive process was developed for the removal of exposed uranium and thorium from fueled-graphite spheres for gas-cooled pebble-bed reactors. Volatile chlorides were formed and removed by reacting exposed uranium and thorium at high temperature with a dynamic atmosphere of gaseous chlorine diluted with argon. Chlorination experiments were conducted at 800 to 1000 deg C with uncoated spherical UC/sub 2/ and (U,Th)C/sub 2/ particles, pyrolytic-carbon coated fuel particles, and graphite matrices containing coated fuel particles. The results were evaluated by radiography, chemical analyses, x-ray diffraction analyses, and alpha assay. It was concluded that exposed uranium alone was more readily removed by chlorine treatment than exposed uranium-thorium combinations, but that both could be removed by treating for 16 hr at 1000 deg C in a gaseous flow of 80 cm/sup 3//min Cl/sub 2/ and 125 cm/sup 3//min Ar. (auth)

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• NSA Number: NSA-18-017934
• OSTI ID: 4035560
• Report Number(s): ORNL-3586
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ALPHA DETECTION
ARGON
CARBON
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
CHLORIDES
CHLORINATION
CHLORINE
COATING
DIFFRACTION
EFFICIENCY
FUELS
GAS COOLANT
GAS FLOW
GASES
GRAIN SIZE
GRAPHITE
GRAPHITE MODERATOR
HIGH TEMPERATURE
MEASURED VALUES
PEBBLE BED
PELLETS
PYROLYSIS
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIOAUTOGRAPHY
REACTION KINETICS
REACTORS
RECOVERY
REPROCESSING
SPHERES
TABLES
THORIUM
THORIUM CARBIDES
URANIUM
URANIUM CARBIDES
VOLATILITY
X RADIATION