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Chlorination Reactions Applied to Reprocessing of Aluminum-Uranium Spent Nuclear Fuels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

A.E. Bohel ,
H.E. Nassini ,
A.M. Bevilacqua  and
D.M. Pasquevich
A.E. Bohel
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
H.E. Nassini
Affiliation:
Comisión Nacional de Energia Atómica (CNEA), Centro Atómico Bariloche, Argentina
A.M. Bevilacqua
Affiliation:
Comisión Nacional de Energia Atómica (CNEA), Centro Atómico Bariloche, Argentina
D.M. Pasquevich
Affiliation:
Comisión Nacional de Energia Atómica (CNEA), Centro Atómico Bariloche, Argentina
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Abstract

An innovative dry method for reprocessing highly enriched Al-U spent fuel is presented. It is based on the use of hot chlorine gas to chemically attack the irradiated fuels, converting aluminum, uranium and fission products into their respective chlorides. Separation of the large amounts of non-radioactive species, basically aluminum and its impurities, can be further accomplished by exploiting the significant differences between relative volatilities of metallic chlorides and also by selectivity of chlorination reactions. The technical feasibility of the method proposed is theoretically demonstrated by performing a case study on the highly enriched Al-U fuels of the RA-3 Argentine research and test reactor.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 506: Symposium – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXI , 1997 , 535
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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References

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