Effects of pretreatment processes for Zr electrorefining of oxidized Zircaloy-4 cladding tubes

The effect of pretreatment processes for the Zr electrorefining of oxidized Zircaloy-4 cladding tubes is examined in LiCl-KCl-ZrCl4 molten salts at 500 °C. The cyclic voltammetries reveal that the Zr dissolution kinetics is highly dependent on the thickness of a Zr oxide layer formed at 500 °C under air atmosphere. For the Zircaloy-4 tube covered with a 1 μm thick oxide layer, the Zr dissolution process is initiated from a non-stoichiometric Zr oxide surface through salt treatment at an open circuit potential in the molten salt electrolyte. The Zr dissolution of the samples in the middle range of oxide layer thickness appears to be more effectively derived by the salt treatment coupled with an anodic potential application at an oxidation potential of Zr. A modification of the process scheme offers an applicability of Zr electrorefining for the treatment of oxidized cladding hull wastes.