Electrolytic Reduction of Spent Oxide Fuel – Bench-Scale Test Results

Conference · Sat Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 2005

OSTI ID:911687

Herrmann, S D; Li, S X; Simpson, M F

A series of tests were performed to demonstrate the electrolytic reduction of spent light water reactor fuel at bench-scale in a hot cell at the Idaho National Laboratory Materials and Fuels Complex (formerly Argonne National Laboratory - West). The process involves the conversion of oxide fuel to metal by electrolytic means, which would then enable subsequent separation and recovery of actinides via existing electrometallurgical technologies, i.e., electrorefining. Four electrolytic reduction runs were performed at bench scale using ~500 ml of molten LiCl -- 1 wt% Li2O electrolyte at 650 ºC. In each run, ~50 g of crushed spent oxide fuel was loaded into a permeable stainless steel basket and immersed into the electrolyte as the cathode. A spiral wound platinum wire was immersed into the electrolyte as the anode. When a controlled electric current was conducted through the anode and cathode, the oxide fuel was reduced to metal in the basket and oxygen gas was evolved at the anode. Salt samples were extracted before and after each electrolytic reduction run and analyzed for fuel and fission product constituents. The fuel baskets following each run were sectioned and sampled, revealing an extent of uranium oxide reduction in excess of 98%.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE - NE
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-99ID13727
• OSTI ID: 911687
• Report Number(s): INL/CON-05-00304
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ACTINIDES
ANODES
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
ELECTROLYTES
ELECTROREFINING
FISSION PRODUCTS
HOT CELLS
NUCLEAR FUELS
OXIDES
OXYGEN
PLATINUM
STAINLESS STEELS
URANIUM OXIDES
WATER
electrolytic reduction
electrometallurgical treatment
light water reactor fuel treatment
nuclear fuel recycle
nuclear fuel reprocessing
oxide reduction
pyrochemical processing
spent oxide fuel treatment