Sequential Electrolysis of U-Pu Alloy Containing a Small Amount of Am to Recover U- and U-Pu-Am Products

• Published in: Journal of nuclear science and technology 2009-02, Vol.46 (2), p.175
• Main Authors: KURATA, Masaki, YAHAGI, Noboru, KITAWAKI, Shinichi, NAKAYOSHI, Akira, FUKUSHIMA, Mineo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-3131; 1881-1248
• DOI: 10.3327/jnst.46.175

Sequential electrolysis testing was performed in a LiCl-KCl eutectic molten salt bath, in which variation in current efficiency, composition of product or molten salt, etc. were measured successively. Porous or dense U-Pu alloys containing a small amount of Am were dissolved one after another from the anode and, simultaneously, U dendrites or U-Pu-Am alloys were recovered on the iron rod or in the liquid cadmium cathode, respectively. The current efficiencies were mostly maintained to be 100% except for the anodic dissolution of the porous alloy and the cathodic recovery of U-Pu-Am in the liquid cadmium. The Pu and Am concentrations in the U dendrites varied in the ranges of 120-350 and 4-15 ppm, respectively. The separation factors for U/Pu and Am/Pu in the liquid cadmium varied in ranges of 1.69-1.74 and 0.66-0.78, respectively. The sum of U, Pu, and Am concentrations in the molten salt bath was maintained in the entire sequence, although the U concentration decreased or increased when using the iron rod or liquid cadmium cathode, respectively. The variation in the Pu concentration compensated for the U concentration variation. Material balance of Pu was mostly maintained at 100% with respect to the initial amount at each step of the sequence. These results indicate that the sequence used in the present study can be recycled.