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Accession Number
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DE2012-1045491
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Title
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Synthesis of Uranium Trichloride for the Pyrometallurgical Processing of Used Nuclear Fuel.
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Publication Date
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Nov 2011
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Media Count
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8p
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Personal Author
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B. R. Westphal J. C. Price R. D. Mariani
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Abstract
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The pyroprocessing of used nuclear fuel via electrorefining requires the continued addition of uranium trichloride to sustain operations. Uranium trichloride is utilized as an oxidant in the system to allow separation of uranium metal from the minor actinides and fission products. The inventory of uranium trichloride had diminished to a point that production was necessary to continue electrorefiner operations. Following initial experimentation, cupric chloride was chosen as a reactant with uranium metal to synthesize uranium trichloride. Despite the variability in equipment and charge characteristics, uranium trichloride was produced in sufficient quantities to maintain operations in the electrorefiner. The results and conclusions from several experiments are presented along with a set of optimized operating conditions for the synthesis of uranium trichloride.
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Keywords
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Actinides
Chlorides
Electrorefining
Fission products
Molten salts
Nuclear fuels
Oxidizers
Production
Spent fuels
Synthesis
Uranium
Uranium trichloride
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Source Agency
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Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
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NTIS Subject Category
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77I - Reactor Fuels & Fuel Processing
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Corporate Author
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Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID.
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Document Type
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Technical report
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Title Note
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N/A
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NTIS Issue Number
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1302
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Contract Number
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DE-AC07-05ID14517
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