Diffusion coefficients of cerium and gadolinium in molten LiCl-KCl
- Central Research Inst. of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan)
The most important step in the pyrometallurgical reprocessing is the electrorefining in molten chlorides. In this step, spent metal fuel is anodically dissolved into LiCl-KCl eutectic melt, and the actinides are selectively recovered at the cathodes due to the differences among the redox potentials of the elements, while fission products remain in the anode and in the electrolyte salt. The diffusion coefficients of Ce(III) and Gd(III) in LiCl-KCl eutectic melt were determined in the temperature range between 673 and 823 K by chronopotentiometry. A new method was devised to minimize the error in defining the surface area of the working electrode. The immersed depth of the working electrode was changed by stages, and the relation between the change in the square root of the transition time and that in the surface area of the working electrode was substituted into the Sand equation instead of their absolute values. The activation energies for diffusion and the diffusion coefficients of lanthanide ions in LiCl-KCl are discussed in connection with their ionic radii and the stability of their complex ions.
- OSTI ID:
- 599649
- Journal Information:
- Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the Electrochemical Society Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 145; ISSN 0013-4651; ISSN JESOAN
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
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
Electrochemical behavior of ferrous sulfide in molten LiCl-KCl and LiF-LiCl electrolytes