Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Drying of uranium-loaded cation exchange resin with microwave heating

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7325612· OSTI ID:7325612
The reference fuel kernel for recycle of /sup 233/U to HTGRs (High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors) is prepared by loading carboxylic acid cation exchange resin with uranium and carbonizing it at controlled conditions. The wet, uranium-loaded resin must be dried to a water content of 10 to 16 wt percent prior to carbonization to minimize handling problems. Microwave heating was demonstrated to give controlled and reproducible dried resin in a vessel whose dimensions were safe for nuclear criticality (12.4 cm ID). A standard drying procedure was developed. The duration of microwave heating is controlled either by using an experimentally derived drying factor or by monitoring the amount of water removed from the resin. No significant difficulties were encountered in the operation of the dryer. Heat balance, microwave coupling efficiency, and minimum fluidization velocity were calculated and compared with experimental results or with the literature. Mixing of the resin during drying was required to ensure a uniformly dried product.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn. (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-26
OSTI ID:
7325612
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-5508
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English