About this Abstract |
Meeting |
2022 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
Symposium
|
Materials and Chemistry for Molten Salt Systems
|
Presentation Title |
Chlorination of UO2 to UCl3 in a Molten LiCl-KCl Using ZrCl4 |
Author(s) |
Jarom L. Chamberlain, Michael Simpson |
On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Jarom L. Chamberlain |
Abstract Scope |
Direct chlorination of UO2 to UCl3 is being developed to enable synthesis of fuel salt for molten chloride fast reactors from commercial spent nuclear fuel. In the reported experiments, NiCl2 was reacted with a metallic Zr rod in molten LiCl-KCl to produce dissolved ZrCl4. A stable concentration of 1 wt.% ZrCl4 in the molten salt was achieved over the course of a two-hour experiment when an initial 5 wt.% of NiCl2 was added to the salt. UO2 particles were then immersed in the salt along with a Zr metal rod. Concentration of U in the salt versus time as measured with ICP-MS was recorded as 0.15 wt.% after four hours. A layer of zirconium oxide surrounding an unreacted core of UO2 was also observed. This preliminary work is a first step towards studying the direct introduction of ZrCl4 in the salt via sparging ZrCl4 vapor into the salt. |
Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Pyrometallurgy, |