Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment Spring 1998 Status Report on Argonne National Laboratory's R & D Activity (1998) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
B ANL Monthly Highlights of the Electrometallurgical Treatment Program
B ANL Monthly Highlights of the Electrometallurgical Treatment Program
Pages 36-65
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 36... ...
The period covered by the monthly reports included in this appendix extends from September, 1997 to April, 1998. Electrometallurgical Treatment Program Monthly Highlights for September 1997 Status of Fuel Conditioning Facility ¢FCF!
|
From page 37... ...
Completion of this test represents completion of the milestone, "Demonstrate productionscale HTER with unirradiated N-Reactor fuel." Further testing of the HTER will be done, using only the inner anode baskets, to determine the effectiveness of the baskets for retaining noble metal fission products. The goal of the next test is to electrotransport at least 98.5% of the uranium for the fuel, while retaining 80°/O of the zirconium in the anode baskets.
|
From page 38... ...
Completion of this work, combined with the completion of the study of temperature effects, reported earlier, meets the requirements of the milestone, "Establish design parameters for zeolite column," scheduled for September 1997. Waste Form Production and Oualification: Two types of waste forms are produced in electrometallurgical treatment of spent fuels: the ceramic waste form that incorporates the transuranic elements and most of the fission products, and the metal waste form that contains the noble metal fission products in a metal matrix made from the fuel cladding.
|
From page 39... ...
Treatment of Metallic Spent Fuels: Uranium electrorefining is the key step in electrometallurgical treatment of spent nuclear fuel. Electrorefining separates pure uranium from the spent fuel, thus reducing the volume of high level waste.
|
From page 40... ...
Waste Form Production and OuaTification: Two types of waste forms are produced in electrometallurgical treatment of spent fuels: the ceramic waste form that incorporates the transuranic elements and most of the fission products, and the metal waste form that contains the noble metal fission products in a metal matrix made from the filet cladding. A detailed test plan has been developed that will lead to qualification of the metal waste form.
|
From page 41... ...
Treatment of Metallic Spent Fuels: Uranium electrorefining is the key step in electrometallurgical treatment of spent nuclear fuel. Electrorefining separates pure uranium from the spent fuel, thus reducing 41
|
From page 42... ...
The effects of anode basket geometry, electrode operation, cathode scraper design, and operating conditions on the HTER performance will be determined. These _ _ tests will also be used to determine anode designs and electroret~n~ng operating conditions that retain simulated noble metal fission products in the anode baskets after the uranium has been transported away from the fuel.
|
From page 43... ...
Waste Form Production and Qualification: Two types of waste forms are produced in electrometallurgical treatment of spent fuels: the ceramic waste form that incorporates the transuranic elements and most of the fission products, and the metal waste form that contains the noble metal fission products in a metal matrix made from the fuel cladding. Samples of ceramic waste form containing plutonium are being prepared.
|
From page 44... ...
Treatment of Aluminum-based Fuels: Demonstration of the feasibility of electrometallurgical treatment of aluminum alloy spent fuels, such as foreign and domestic research reactor fuels, has been initiated in laboratory-scale experiments. The key step in treatment of this fuel is electrorefining of the aluminum, which represents about 90% of the spent fuel volume, and which can, after electrorefining, be discarded 44
|
From page 45... ...
Waste Form Production and Qualification: Two types of waste forms are produced in electrometallurgical treatment of spent fuels: the ceramic waste form that incorporates the transuranic elements and most of the fission products, and the metal waste form that contains the noble metal fission products in a metal matrix made from the fuel cladding. A series of immersion corrosion tests based on the Materials Characterization Center standard test, MCC-l, were performed on the metal waste form alloy.
|
From page 46... ...
WBS 1.0 Treatment Operations: Electrometallurgical treatment technology will convert the highly enriched uranium and the reactive bond sodium in EBR-~! fuel into Tow enriched uranium product, ceramic waste and metal waste.
|
From page 47... ...
WBS I.4 Ceramic Waste Operation with Irradiated Materials: After 100 driver assemblies are treated in the Mk-IV electrorefiner, a portion of the salt will be transferred to the Hot Fuel Examination Facility where the salt and fission products will be immobilized in ceramic waste samples. This activity is not scheduled to begin until February 1999.
|
From page 48... ...
Based on this information and Mk-IV electrorefiner ACM testing, a cathode tube modification was proposed and implemented. WBS 5.0 Metal Waste Treatment Development: The noble metal fission products and undissolved cladding hulls are immobilized into a stainless steel-zirconium alloy for geologic repository disposal.
|
From page 49... ...
The effectiveness of zeolite columns for removing fission products from molten chloride salts has been examined as a function of temperature, in the range of 500 C to 600 C, and as a function of salt flow velocity, in the range of 0.l to 1.5 cm/mint These tests have shown that zeolite columns are very effective in removing rare earths from the salt but are less effective in removing cesium, barium, and strontium. The effectiveness of the zeolite columns did not vary significantly with temperature.
|
From page 50... ...
WBS 9.0 Repository Performance Assessment Modeling: A significant element in establishing the viability of electrometallurgical treatment technology is a defensible assessment which shows that the wastes to be generated from the process will perform acceptably when ultimately disposed in a geologic repository. An initial ceramic waste dissolution mode} has been proposed based on similar models for high level waste glasses.
|
From page 51... ...
The monthly highlights are divided between the main work breakdown structure elements for the project plus two additional tasks: treatment of oxide spent fuels and treatment of aluminum-based fuels. WBS I.0 Treatment Onerations: Electrometallureical treatment technology will convert the higher enriched uranium and the reactive bond sodium in EBR-TI fuel into low enriched uranium product, ceramic waste and metal waste.
|
From page 52... ...
WBS 1.5 Facility Operations: Two irradiated and two unirradiated blanket assemblies were received from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility. Two driver assemblies were received from the Radioactive Scrap and Waste Facility.
|
From page 53... ...
. WBS 7.0 Ceramic Waste Treatment Development: The electrolyte salt is periodically removed from the electrorefiner and passed through a waste treatment system to immobilize fission products and transuranium elements for disposal.
|
From page 54... ...
WBS 8.0 Ceramic Waste Qualification Testing: The ceramic waste form is being characterized so that its performance in different repository conditions and scenarios can be assessed. This work characterizes hot uniaxial pressing samples and laboratory scale and demonstration scale samples from hot isostatic pressing.
|
From page 55... ...
WBS 1.0 Treatment Operations: Electrometallurgical treatment technology will convert the highly ennched uranium and the reactive bond sodium in EBR-~! fuel into Tow enriched uranium product, ceramic waste and metal waste.
|
From page 56... ...
. WBS 1.4 Ceramic Waste Operation with Irradiated Materials: After 100 driver assemblies are treated in the Mk-IV electrorefiner, a portion of the salt will be transferred to the Hot Fuel Examination Facility where the salt and fission products will be immobilized in ceramic waste samples.
|
From page 57... ...
WBS 5.0 Metal Waste Treatment Development: The noble metal fission products and undissolved cladding hulls are immobilized into a stainless steel-zirconium alloy for geologic repository disposal. In support of waste qualification activities, small samples of the metal waste are being produced so they can be characterized to establish the performance.
|
From page 58... ...
the higher temperature test may be ot value as a product consistency test for tne metal waste form, during production operations. WBS 7.0 Ceramic Waste Treatment Development: The electrolyte salt is periodically removed from the electroref~ner and passed through a waste treatment system to immobilize fission products and transuranium elements for disposal.
|
From page 59... ...
WBS 9.0 Repositorv Performance Assessment Modeling: A significant element in establishing the viability of electrometallurgical treatment technology is a defensible assessment which shows that the wastes to be generated from the process will perform acceptably when ultimately disposed in a geologic repository. An initial ceramic waste dissolution model was reviewed for its applicability for the ceramic waste.
|
From page 60... ...
fuel into low enriched uranium product, ceramic waste and metal waste. This work element involves the demonstration equipment operations in the Fuel Conditioning Facility (FCF)
|
From page 61... ...
WBS 1.4 Ceramic Waste Operation with Irradiated Materials: After 100 driver assemblies are treated in the Mk-IV electrorefiner, a portion of the salt will be transferred to the HFEF where the salt and fission products will be immobilized in ceramic waste samples. This activity is not scheduled to begin until February 1999.
|
From page 62... ...
WRS ~ () Metal Waste Treatment Development: The noble metal fission products and undissolved cladding hulls are immobilized into a stainless steel-zirconium alloy for geologic repository disposal.
|
From page 63... ...
WBS 7.0 Ceramic Waste Treatment Development: The electrolyte salt is periodically removed from the electrorefiner and passed through a waste treatment system to immobilize fission products and transuranium elements for disposal. The necessary processes, materials and demonstration equipment are being developed and tested so these waste treatment processes can be demonstrated in the HFEF with salts from the Mk-IV electrorefiner.
|
From page 64... ...
However, the conclusions from the test method development work should be completely applicable to the qualification testing of the reference ceramic waste form for the EBR-II demonstration project. The main purpose of this report is to outline the approach and methods that will be used for the qualification testing to determine the waste forms' overall attributes, initial and accelerated corrosion behavior, actual "service condition" behavior, and the expected long-term behavior.
|
From page 65... ...
Treatment of ATuminum-Based Fuels: Demonstration of the feasibility of electro-metallurgical treatment of aluminum alloy spent filets, such as foreign and domestic research reactor fuels, has been done in laboratory-scale experiments. The key step in treatment of this fuel is electrorefining of the aluminum, which represents about 90% of the spent fuel volume, and which can, after electrorefining, be discarded as low-level waste.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.