Thermodynamically inert Sc2O3 ceramic crucible for electrowinning process in pyroprocessing

As an alternative to wet processing, pyroprocessing shows promise in recycling transuranic elements with high proliferation resistance. The ceramic crucible used in the electrowinning process is a critical issue encountered in pyroprocessing. These ceramic crucibles are frequently damaged by thermal stress and chemical reaction, which results in significant volumes of crucible waste that must be properly disposed. The volume of generated radioactive waste is a concern when dealing with nuclear power plants and decontamination issues. In this study, a chemically stable Sc2O3 crucible was developed, based on thermodynamic calculations, and sintered using a LiCl-KCl electrowinning system. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy was used to measure the intrusion depth of Li in the sintered ceramics. X-ray diffraction was used to measure the reactivity with ceramic and liquid Li.