Study of XeF2 fluorination potential against SrO, MoO3, and Nb2O5 in TG/DTA for use in reactive gas recycle

•Use of XeF2 as an alternate fluorinating agent for separations of UNF components.•Fluorination of SrO, MoO3, and Nb2O5 to form volatile and non-volatile compounds.•Reactive Gas Recycle as an advanced reprocessing method for used nuclear fuel.

Oxides SrO, MoO3, and Nb2O5, simulating parts of the Used Nuclear Fuel (UNF) matrix were fluorinated using XeF2 to form volatile and non-volatile compounds to demonstrate the possibility of a chemical and thermal separations. Experiments were conducted using a TG/DTA instrument at the milligram quantity scale, and XRD enabled confirmation for the fluorination reaction when sample residues were present. The study of these chemistries could be incorporated into advanced separations methods to provide another possible solution for the long-term, sustainability of nuclear power as the issue of reuse and disposal of commercial fuel continues to grow.