On the Development of a Distillation Process for the Electrometallurgical Treatment of Irradiated Spent Nuclear Fuel
As part of the spent fuel treatment program at the Idaho National Laboratory, a vacuum distillation process is being employed for the recovery of actinide products following an electrorefining process. Separation of the actinide products from a molten salt electrolyte and cadmium is achieved by a batch operation called cathode processing. A cathode processor has been designed and developed to efficiently remove the process chemicals and consolidate the actinide products for further processing. This paper describes the fundamentals of cathode processing, the evolution of the equipment design, the operation and efficiency of the equipment, and recent developments at the cathode processor. In addition, challenges encountered during the processing of irradiated spent nuclear fuel in the cathode processor will be discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-99ID-13727
- OSTI ID:
- 936876
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-08-13918; TRN: US0805723
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Energy and Technology, Vol. 40, Issue 3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Integrated Electrorefining Efficiency Test for Pyrochemical Fuel Cycle
Simplified Reference Electrode for Electrorefining of Spent Nuclear Fuel in High Temperature Molten Salt