Numerical assessment of pyrochemical process performance for PEACER system

The lead–bismuth cooled fast reactor, PEACER, relies on pyrochemical processing for actinides recycling of both LWR and PEACER spent fuels. In order to develop advanced performance units, a new numerical analysis technique of electrochemical-hydrodynamic process has been established. In this paper, we applied a commercial computational fluid dynamics code, ANSYS® CFX-10.0 for a three-dimensional analysis of diffusion boundary layer and deposition rate, in couple with the one-dimensional electrochemical analysis model, REFIN. From the analysis result, the performance of a typical electro-refining processor was evaluated on decontamination factors of actinides and process throughputs. Subsequent electro-winning and reductive extraction processes were also simulated using REFIN model. It has been shown that predicted decontamination factors and throughputs can be high enough to meet Low and Intermediate Level Waste (LILW) standards.