Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6602914 | Electrochimica Acta | 2018 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
This paper reports the direct separation of U from lanthanides (Ln) in oxide mixtures in LiCl-KCl eutectic, a method that could simplify the pyrometallurgical reprocessing of UO2-based spent fuels. In the melt, the mixture of UO2 and lanthanide oxides (Ln2O3/LnO2) was chloridized by AlCl3, and then U was selectively recovered by forming U-Al alloys through the redox reactions of U(IV)/U(III) and U(III)/AlxU. The results showed that U could be efficiently separated from lanthanides with high separation factors (SFU/Laâ¯=â¯1.1â¯Ãâ¯104, SFU/Ceâ¯=â¯1.6â¯Ãâ¯105, and SFU/Smâ¯=â¯2.5â¯Ãâ¯104). X-ray diffraction analysis indicated the predominant separation products to be Al3U and Al4U, whereas the real extraction rate of U was probably affected by trace amounts of O2â in the melt. For the first time, single-cell operation to separate U from Ln in mixed oxides is shown to be feasible by using AlCl3 as chlorination agent followed by electrodeposition.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering (General)
Authors
Yalan Liu, Kui Liu, Lixia Luo, Liyong Yuan, Zhifang Chai, Weiqun Shi,