Uncertainty studies of real anode surface area in computational analysis for molten salt electrorefining

Choi, Sungyeol; Park, Jaeyeong; Hoover, Robert O.; Phongikaroon, Supathorn; Simpson, Michael F.; Kim, Kwang Rag; Hwang, Il Soon

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2011.06.020

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To simulate the lab‐scale Zircaloy‐4 electrorefining experiment more precisely, the electrorefining model should perform transient calculations for both the anodic dissolution and cathodic deposition, which are coupled with each other. However, it has been reported that the anodic dissolution modeling could result in high uncertainty and complexity 11 . In addition, it was experimentally verified that the alloying elements of Zircaloy‐4 was not dissolved via the control of the anode potential.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The capability of the designed electrorefiner was evaluated by predicting the throughput when pure Zr could be recovered without the deposition of U and ZrCl. The throughput was investigated under galvanostatic operation to quantitatively predict the amount of dissolution and deposition 11,20‐22 . Electrorefining simulations were performed to estimate the mass production rates of Zr, ZrCl, and U, depending on the applied current under various cathode rotating speeds.…”

Section: Design and Performance Of Pilot‐scale Electrorefiner For Snf Zircaloy‐4 Claddingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…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%

See 2 more Smart Citations

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

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Design and Performance Of Pilot‐scale Electrorefiner For Snf Zircaloy‐4 Claddingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

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

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Change of the surface area during the electrorefining process continuously alters the entire electrochemical conditions such as the current density, the electric field strength near the electrode, the potential and current gradient along the diffusion layer, and the exchange current, etc. So far, however, there has been no study on the surface change of the working cathode during the process in molten salt, and only a few studies on the kinetics of the anodic dissolution have been performed 9–11 . Moreover, there is no simulation model for the pyroprocessing that reflects the transient phenomenon of the working cathode.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective morphological analysis of cerium metal in electrodeposit recovered from molten LiCl-KCl eutectic by radiography and computed tomography

Jee

Park

Cho

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents, for the first time, a study to analyze the surface morphology of metal extracted from a high temperature molten salt medium in the electrodeposit using x-ray radiography and computed tomography. Widely used methods such as scanning electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry/mass spectrometry are destructive and the related processes are often subject to the air condition. The x-ray imaging can provide rich information of the target sample in a non-destructive way without invoking hydrolysis or oxidation of a hygroscopic sample. In this study, the x-ray imaging conditions were optimized as following: tube voltage at 100 kVp and the current exposure time product at 8.8 mAs in our in-house x-ray imaging system. LiCl-KCl and cerium metals used in this work produced substantially distinguishable contrasts in the radiography due to their distinctive attenuation characteristics, and this difference was well quantified in the histograms of brightness. Electrodeposits obtained by chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry demonstrated a completely different behavior of electrodeposition even at the same applied charge. In particular, computed tomography and volumetric analysis clearly showed the structural and morphological dissimilarity. The structure of cerium metal in the electrodeposit was successfully separated from the chloride salt structure in the CT image by an image segmentation process.

show abstract

“…High-temperature molten salt composed of a eutectic mixture of lithium chloride (LiCl) and potassium chloride (KCl) is used as a pyroprocess medium, which is actively under development in Korea, for the recycling of the nuclear spent fuels [1][2][3] . The physical properties of the molten salts are important in the operation of the process and modeling 4,5 . Electrical conductivity is one of the most important physical properties in the electrochemical pyroprocess 6,7 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrical Conductivity Measurement of Molten Salts Using a Two-Electrode Alternative Current Impedance Method

Kim¹,

Choi²,

Bae³

et al. 2013

Asian J. Chem.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The electrical conductivity of molten salts was measured at various temperatures using a two-electrode AC impedance method. The conductivity of the LiCl-KCl molten salt was 1.87 ± 0.01 S/cm at 773 K, which is the target temperature of the electrorefining process in the pyroprocess under development in Korea. The conductivity of the LiCl-KCl molten salt increased with an increase in temperature. All conductivity data in the range between 650-850 K were consistent with the data predicted by the equation proposed in the literature.

show abstract

Uncertainty studies of real anode surface area in computational analysis for molten salt electrorefining

Cited by 23 publications

References 33 publications

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

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

Selective morphological analysis of cerium metal in electrodeposit recovered from molten LiCl-KCl eutectic by radiography and computed tomography

Electrical Conductivity Measurement of Molten Salts Using a Two-Electrode Alternative Current Impedance Method

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About