Corrosion investigations on zircaloy-4 and titanium dissolver materials for MOX fuel dissolution in concentrated nitric acid containing fluoride ions

Aqueous reprocessing of plutonium-rich mixed oxide fuels require fluoride as a dissolution catalyst in boiling nitric acid for an effective dissolution of the spent fuel. High corrosion rates were obtained for the candidate dissolver materials zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) and commercial pure titanium (CP-Ti grade 2) in boiling 11.5 M HNO3 + 0.05 M NaF. Complexing the fluoride ions either with Al(NO3)3 or ZrO(NO3)2 aided in decreasing the corrosion rates of Zr-4 and CP-Ti. From the obtained corrosion rates it is concluded that CP-Ti is a better dissolver material than Zr-4 for extended service life in boiling 11.5 M HNO3 + 0.05 M NaF, when complexed with 0.15 M ZrO(NO3)2. XPS analysis confirmed the presence of TiO2 and absence of fluoride on the surface of CP-Ti samples, indicating that effective complexation had occurred in solution leading to passivation of the metal and imparting high corrosion resistance.