Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T11:27:16.086Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Fate of Radiogenic Iodine During the Electrochemical Treatment of Spent EBR-II Fuel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Steven Frank ,
DeeEarl Vaden ,
Brian R Westphal ,
Thomas A Johnson ,
Paula A Hahn ,
Jeff J. Giglio ,
Daniel G. Cummings  and
Michael Rodriquez
Steven Frank
Affiliation:
[email protected]
DeeEarl Vaden
Affiliation:
[email protected], Idaho National Laboratory, Pyroprocessing Technology, Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Brian R Westphal
Affiliation:
[email protected], Idaho National Laboratory, Pyroprocessing Technology, Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Thomas A Johnson
Affiliation:
[email protected], Idaho National Laboratory, Pyroprocessing Technology, Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Paula A Hahn
Affiliation:
[email protected], Idaho National Laboratory, Pyroprocessing Technology, Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Jeff J. Giglio
Affiliation:
[email protected], Idaho National Laboratory, Analytical Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Daniel G. Cummings
Affiliation:
[email protected], Idaho National Laboratory, Analytical Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Michael Rodriquez
Affiliation:
[email protected], Idaho National Laboratory, Analytical Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Get access

Abstract

Radiogenic iodine is one of the more difficult fission products to capture and immobilize during the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.

However, for metallic fuels reprocessed by electrometallurgical treatment, it is believed that the majority of fission-product iodine is retained during the various processing steps. Spent fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is being treated by a combination of electrochemical and pyrometallurgical methods to deactivate the bond sodium of the fuel, recover uranium, and immobilize fission products for disposal. This paper discusses the progress of various strategies and experiments to confirm the expected retention of iodine during the electrometallurgical treatment of EBR-II spent fuel. This includes surveys of previous observations and measurements, and the direct measurement of iodine from various process samples. Current measurements are aimed at iodine determination in the bond sodium and plenum regions of the fuel, refined iodine measurements in electrorefiner salt, and the retention of iodine during waste form production.

Keywords

waste managementnuclear materialsI
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1265: Symposium AA – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXXIV , 2010 , 1265-AA09-04
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Moran, J.E., Oktay, S.D., Santschi, P.H., and Schink, D.R., Environ. Sci. Tech. 33, 2536–2542 (1999).Google Scholar
2 Raisbeck, G.M., Yiou, F., Zhou, Z.Q., and Kilius, L.R., J. Marine Systems 6, 561–570 (1995).Google Scholar
3 National Research Council, “Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment: Final Report,” National Academy Press, Washington, DC (2000).Google Scholar
4 Goff, K.M., Benedict, R.W., Johnson, S.G., Mariani, R.D., Simpson, M.F., Westphal, B.R., “Electrometallurgical Treatment Denonstration at ANL-West,” Proceedings of the ANS Embedded Topical Meeting DOE Spent Nuclear Fuel and Fissile Material Management (2000).Google Scholar
5 McDeavitt, S.M., Abraham, D.P., Park, J.Y., and Keiser, D.D. Jr., JOM, 49 (7), 29 (1997).Google Scholar
6 Simpson, M.F., Goff, K.M., Johnson, S.G., Bateman, K.J., Battisti, T.J., Toews, K.L., Frank, S.M., Moschetti, T.L., and O'Holleran, T.P., Nuc. Tech., 134, 263 (2001).Google Scholar
7 Schuster, E., Garzarolli, F., Kersting, A., Neeb, K.H., and Stehle, H., Nuclear Engineering and Design, 64, 81–85 (1981).Google Scholar
8 Chellew, N.R., Honesty, C.C., and Steunenberg, R.K., “Laboratory Studies of Iodine Behavior in EBR-II Melt Refining Process,” Report ANL-6815, Argonne National Laboratory, 1964.Google Scholar
9 Castleman, A.W. Jr. , Tang, I.N., J. inorg. Nucl. Chem, 32, 1057 to 1064, 1970.Google Scholar
10 Castleman, A.W. Jr., Nuclear Safety, 11, No 5, 379 (1970).Google Scholar
11 Erdman, C.A., Kelly, J.L., and Reynolds, A.B., Nuclear Safety, 16, No. 3, 318 (1975).Google Scholar
12 Bruchertseifer, H., Cripps, R., and Jaeckel, B., Anal. Bioanal. Chem., 375, 1107 (2003).Google Scholar
13 McKnight, R.D., “ANL Calculational Methodologies for Determining Spent Nuclear Fuel Source Term,” International Conference on the Physics of Nuclear Science and Technology, Long Island, NY, USA (1998).Google Scholar
14 Vaden, D., Separation Science and Technology, 41, (10), 1985 (2006).Google Scholar
15 Lewis, M.A., Hash, M.C., Hebden, A.S., and Ebert, W.L., “Tests with Ceramic Waste Form Materials Made by Pressureless Consolidation,” Argonne National Laboratory Report ANL-02/10 (2002).Google Scholar
16 Choi, B.S., Park, G.I., Kim, J.H., Lee, J.W., and Begg, B.D., J. Nucl. Mat., 341, 93 (2001).Google Scholar