Pilot-scale equipment development for pyrochemical reduction of spent oxide fuel

Conference · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1998

OSTI ID:656564

Herrmann, S D; King, R W; Durstine, K R; Eberl, C S

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has developed and is presently demonstrating the electrometallurgical conditioning of sodium-bonded spent metal fuel from Experimental Breeder Reactor II, resulting in uranium, ceramic, and metal waste forms. Equipment is being developed at ANL which will precondition irradiated oxide fuel and demonstrate the application of electrometallurgical conditioning to such non-metallic fuels as well. The oxide reduction process preconditions irradiated oxide fuel such that uranium and transuranic (TRU) constituents are chemically reduced into metallic form via a molten Li/LiCl-based reduction system. In this form the spent fuel is further conditioned in an electrorefiner and waste handling equipment, thereby placing the uranium, TRU elements, and fissions products into stable forms suitable for placement in a long-term repository. Development of the Li/LiCl-based oxide reduction process has proceeded at lab- (nominally 50 grams of heavy metal (HM)) and engineering-scale (nominally 10-kg of HM) for unirradiated oxide fuel. The presentation described the process and equipment design for scale-up from lab- and engineering-scale reduction of unirradiated oxide fuel in gloveboxes to pilot-scale (up to 100-kg of HM) reduction of irradiated oxide fuel in a hot cell. [Abstract only.]

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 656564
• Report Number(s): ANL/ED/CP--95729; CONF-980452--; ON: DE98057810
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
MIXED OXIDE FUELS
PYROCHEMICAL REPROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
REDUCTION
SPENT FUELS
WASTE FORMS