The Ebr-Ii Skull Reclamation Process. Part Ii. Oxidation of Melt-Refining Skulls

Consolidated fuel reprocessing program. Progress report, July 1-September 30, 1979

“…A thorough experimental program to establish the operating characteristics of the reciprocating magnetic pump was [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] performed. A graph of pump operation performance (Fig.…”

“…In the second experiment, 9 g of thorium was added to the mixture of 50 g tin, 1 g uranium, and 1 g calcium from the first experiment and then nitrided under 395-torr nitrogen for 2 h at a temperature of 1880 K. The nitriding rate for the thorium was found to be 6% per h. The nitriding rate of thorium in tin, in the absence of uranium, was tested using a mixture of 9 g thorium, 1 g calcium, and 50 g tin nitrided at an initial N2 pressure of [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] 674 torr and at a temperature of 1900 K. The nitriding was found to be nearly linear with time and was complete in 5.3 h.…”

“…Visual observation of the surface showed a color change from light gray in the virgin material to dark brown in the exposed material. The SEM and x-ray analyses showed a corrosion product rich in either copper or tantalum (the two [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] elements are virtually indistinguishable in energy-dispersive analysis). Since there is no potential source for copper, one must conclude that tantalum from the corrosion test apparatus hardware formed a compound or solution with the Si2 0N2.…”

“…A second crucible was tested in its original configuration as a container for an agitated zinc and salt mixture at 800°C for 250 h. The crucible was cooked, rinsed in water to [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] remove the salt layer, and sectioned without zinc removal. Macroscopic examination showed the crucible to be in excellent condition, and no degradation in the form of cracking or spallation of the coating was observed.…”