| Abstract Scope |
In an effort to create a recyclable pathway, spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from light water reactors can be pyroprocessed through chlorination and drawdown to generate U/TRU fuel for sodium cooled fast reactors. This study investigated the chlorination behaviour of simulated fission products (SFPs). Powders of SrO, La<sub>2</sub>O3, CeO<sub>2</sub>, Cs<sub>2</sub>O, and a Mo metal rod were immersed in molten eutectic LiCl-KCl with 8.23 wt% NiCl<sub>2</sub>. Salt samples were collected at intervals and analyzed via ICP-MS. The SFPs resisted chlorination until a Zr rod was immersed. This shows that NiCl<sub>2</sub> reacts with Zr to form ZrCl<sub>4</sub>, which subsequently reacts with the SFP oxides. At 500 °C with no mixing, SrO, La<sub>2</sub>O3, CeO<sub>2</sub>, chlorination conversion was 86%, while Cs<sub>2</sub>O achieved 61% conversion. The Ni metal by-product electrodeposited onto the Mo rod, which resisted chlorination. This study clarifies fission product partitioning during chlorination of UO<sub>2</sub>, PuO<sub>2</sub>, and other actinide oxides with ZrCl<sub>4</sub>. |