Separation of Fission Products from Spent Driver Fuel via Pyrochemical Processing

S. X. Li, D. Vaden, and B. R. Westphal

Engineering Technology Division

Argonne National Laboratory-West

Idaho Falls, ID 83403

Argonne National Laboratory has developed and demonstrated a pyrochemical process which can separate fission products from spent driver fuel in a molten salt electrolyte and reclaim the energy value of the spent fuel. The process has been described in a number of publications [1-3]. During the pyrochemical process, spent driver fuel elements are chopped and then electrorefined in a molten bath of LiCl-KCl-UCl_3. The separation of fission products from the other fuel components is thermodynamically favorable during the electrorefining. This report summarizes the experimental observations and fission product separation efficiencies obtained during the EBR-II Spent Fuel Demonstration Program, during which 100 highly enriched spent driver assemblies with burn-up values greater than 8.0 at% were processed. The accumulation over time of active metal fission products in the molten electrolyte will also be discussed along with the impact of these active metals on the purity of the final uranium product.

References:

1. J. Laidler, et al., Progress in Nuclear Energy, 31, 12 (1997).
2. R. W. Benedict and H. F. McFarlane, Radwaste Magazine, 5, No. 4, 23, July (1998).
3. K. M. Goff, et al., Proceedings of the Embedded Topical Meeting DOE Spent Nuclear Fuel and Fissile Material Management, ANS June 4-8 (2000).