Experience making mixed oxide fuel with plutonium from dismantled weapons
Mixed depleted UO{sub 2} and PuO{sub 2} (MOX) pellets prototypic of fuel proposed for use in commercial power reactors were made with plutonium recovered from dismantled weapons. We characterized plutonium dioxide powders that were produced at the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LANL and LLNL) using various methods to recover the plutonium from weapons parts and to convert It to oxide. The gallium content of the PUO{sub 2} prepared at LANL was the same as in the weapon alloy while the content of that prepared at LLNL was less. The MOX was prepared with a five weight percent plutonium content. We tested various MOX powders milling methods to improve homogeneity and found vibratory milling superior to ball milling. The sintering behavior of pellets made with the PuO{sub 2} from the two laboratories was similar. We evaluated the effects of gallium and of erbium and gadolinium, that are added to the MOX fuel as deplorable neutron absorbers, on the pellet fabrication process and an the sintered pellets. The gallium content of the sintered pellets was <10 ppm, suggesting that the gallium will not be an issue in the reactor, but that it will be an Issue in the operation of the fuel fabrication processing equipment unless it is removed from the PuO{sub 2} before it is blended with the UO{sub 2}.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 211571
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-95-4085; CONF-960306-18; ON: DE96005067
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICONE 4: ASME/JSME international conference on nuclear engineering, New Orleans, LA (United States), 10-13 Mar 1996; Other Information: PBD: [1995]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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