Transient modeling of spent nuclear fuel electrorefining with liquid metal electrode

Seo, Seungjin; Choi, Sungyeol; Park, Byung Gi

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.04.053

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…It is worth mentioning that the current in this model is only calculated by Butler-Volmer equation. Unlike the previous model [123,124], the diffusion current is not NEUP- 158 of 162 Final Report necessarily equal to the current due to the Butler-Volmer equation. A "surface layer" was set here with the thickness of δ l , therefore the concentration can be altered if the amount of the consumed ions is different with the ion diffusing into the electrode.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Rare Earth Electrochemical Property Measurements and Phase Diagram Development in a Complex Molten Salt Mixture for Molten Salt Recycle

Zhang

Guo

2018

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Rare Earth Electrochemical Property Measurements and Phase Diagram Development in a Complex Molten Salt Mixture for Molten Salt Recycle

Zhang

Guo

2018

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“…The model combines electrochemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and transport. Based on the kinetic model developed by Seo et al, 33 the diffusion boundary layer thickness, transfer coefficients, and the difference between electrochemical potentials were calculated.…”

Section: Mass Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Weight percentages of U and Pu in the Cd electrode, compared with the experimental results 33 [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

Section: Mass Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it is extremely difficult to quantify experimentally the concentration of 244 Cm, when the goal is to detect the amount of Pu. This is due to the fact that the content of Cm in the molten salt, as a rule, is below the limit of its detection 33 . However, the anode dissolution of SMF, the effects of the transfer of its components in molten salt electrolytes, as well as cathode deposition can be studied by calculation.…”

Section: Mass Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Processing of fast neutron reactor fuel by electrorefining: Thematic overview

Галашев

2020

Int J Energy Res

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Summary This work provides basic knowledge on the spent fuel management on the basis of the published literature data on electrorefining. This review examines three main areas of work devoted to electrorefining. These are electrodeposition and electrodissolution using solid and liquid electrodes, as well as mass transfer in phases present during electrorefining. As part of this research, the composition of the irradiated metallic fuel was estimated. Due to the great potential difference between solid cathodes, it is possible to separate actinides from lanthanides. The co‐deposition of metallic Pu and U in the eutectic LiCl‐KCl melt containing UCl3 and PuCl3 indicates stable co‐precipitation of U and Pu at U3+ concentration less than ~0.2 wt. Periodically performed electrical transport of ions to liquid (Cd) and solid cathodes in the galvanic mode made it possible to deposit preferentially U on the solid cathode, and Pu and Am on the liquid cathode. Oxidation of these metals caused fluctuations in the anode potential. The electrode processing after electrorefining is investigated. This process consists of oxidizing the actinides remaining in the liquid electrode by adding CdCl2 and removing the associated chloride by high‐temperature distillation. During the electrorefining of irradiated metallic fuel, the fission products accumulate in the molten salt. Reduction of uranium on a solid cathode from a spent molten salt using a liquid Cd‐Li anode is considered. A model that describes electrorefining with a liquid metal anode, solid cathode, and molten LiCl‐KCl salts, is presented. The formation of plutonium at the surface of a solid cathode is analyzed. In a one‐dimensional model of an electrorefiner, it is shown that the concentration of Pu at the cathode cannot be predicted from the Cm concentration in the melt.

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“…Numerical simulation can improve the cost and time effectiveness prior to the experimental approach. Multiphysics computational modeling has been extensively performed for electrorefining in high‐temperature molten salt systems 11‐18 . However, the electrorefining model involving the complicated Zr behavior has not yet been investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational model‐based design of molten salt electrorefining process for high‐purity zirconium metal recovery from spent nuclear fuel

et al. 2020

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Summary Effective decontamination methods for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) cladding are required to recycle Zr, which is a valuable resource, by separating high purity Zr from the actinides. In this study, computational modeling is performed on an electrorefiner to achieve high‐purity Zr metal recovery without ZrCl and U from SNF Zircaloy‐4 cladding utilizing a commercial fluid dynamics code. A three‐dimensional (3D) electrorefining model specialized in simulation of multistep electrochemical reduction (eg, two‐step reduction of Zr(IV) to Zr via ZrCl) is developed by coupling the numerical models of the Butler‐Volmer equation and fluid dynamics. This model is validated by benchmarking the chemical formula of cathode deposits obtained from lab‐scale electrorefining experiments utilizing fresh Zircaloy‐4. The computational results are consistent with the compositions of Zr and ZrCl in the cathode deposits, depending on the initial ZrCl4 concentrations. Based on the developed 3D model, a pilot‐scale electrorefiner for the SNF cladding is simulated with several derived design parameters. The effects of rotating anode and cathode, potential range, molten salt weight, and the number of anode baskets are determined to optimize the electrorefiner design to achieve the suppression of ZrCl and U codeposition. The electrorefiner throughput when employing the optimized design and operating conditions is predicted to be 0.1 to 0.2 ton/y, as only pure Zr metal is recovered.

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Transient modeling of spent nuclear fuel electrorefining with liquid metal electrode

Cited by 18 publications

References 34 publications

Rare Earth Electrochemical Property Measurements and Phase Diagram Development in a Complex Molten Salt Mixture for Molten Salt Recycle

Rare Earth Electrochemical Property Measurements and Phase Diagram Development in a Complex Molten Salt Mixture for Molten Salt Recycle

Processing of fast neutron reactor fuel by electrorefining: Thematic overview

Computational model‐based design of molten salt electrorefining process for high‐purity zirconium metal recovery from spent nuclear fuel

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