Separation of uranium from (Th,U)O.sub.2 solid solutions

Patent · 28 September 1976

OSTI ID:862652

Chiotti, Premo ^[1]; Jha, Mahesh Chandra ^[2]

---

1. Ames, IA
2. Arvada, CO

Uranium is separated from mixed oxides of thorium and uranium by a pyrometallurgical process in which the oxides are mixed with a molten chloride salt containing thorium tetrachloride and thorium metal which reduces the uranium oxide to uranium metal which can then be recovered from the molten salt. The process is particularly useful for the recovery of uranium from generally insoluble high-density sol-gel thoria-urania nuclear reactor fuel pellets.

• Research Organization: Ames Laboratory (AMES), Ames, IA; Iowa State University, Ames, IA (US)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-82
• Assignee: United States of America as represented by United States Energy (Washington, DC)
• Patent Number(s): US 3982928
• OSTI ID: 862652
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/75/423/976/
chloride
chloride salt
containing
fuel
fuel pellet
fuel pellets
high-density
insoluble
metal
metallurgical process
mixed
mixed oxide
mixed oxides
molten
molten chloride
molten salt
nuclear
nuclear reactor
oxide
oxides
particularly
particularly useful
pellets
process
pyrometallurgical
reactor
reactor fuel
recovered
recovery
reduces
salt
salt containing
separated
separation
sol-gel
solid
solid solution
solid solutions
solutions
tetrachloride
thoria-urania
thorium
uranium
uranium metal
uranium oxide
useful