| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Materials and Chemistry for Molten Salt Systems
|
| Presentation Title |
Assessment of mixed cation lanthanide/actinide surrogate systems toward reduction of molten salt pyroprocessing waste |
| Author(s) |
Kelly Varnell, Hojong Kim, Tae-Sic Yoo |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Kelly Varnell |
| Abstract Scope |
The use of molten salts during pyroprocessing of spent nuclear fuel to recover actinide elements necessitates the treatment of large volumes of contaminated salt waste. The depletion of UCl3 from the molten salt due to the presence of bond-sodium metal and electrochemically active fission products requires addition of external oxidants to maintain uranium salt concentrations. Once the molten salt volume exceeds its acceptable limit, it must be treated for disposal. To reduce salt waste and treatment costs from this process, this work explores the use of an electrochemical cell in which salt mixing is limited between the anode and cathode to co-deposit lanthanide and actinide elements while replenishing and concentrating uranium locally at the anode, thus eliminating the need for external oxidant addition. To implement and test this design, this work investigates electrochemical characteristics of mixed cation surrogate systems such as Mg(II), Mn(II), and Ce(III) in eutectic LiCl-KCl electrolyte. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, High-Temperature Materials, Sustainability |