Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Application of AC superimposed DC waveforms to bismuth electrorefining

  • Greg Chipman (Department of Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University) ;
  • Bryant Johnson (Department of Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University) ;
  • Devin Rappleye (Department of Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University)
  • Received : 2023.06.26
  • Accepted : 2023.11.20
  • Published : 2024.04.25
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Abstract

Electrorefining in molten salts is used for purifying actinides. Optimizing electrorefining is key to minimizing processing time and radiological waste. One possible way of improving electrorefining efficiency is using an AC superimposed DC waveform. This waveform has demonstrated potential benefits in aqueous solutions but has never been utilized in a molten metal, molten salt application. This work investigates the effects of using an AC superimposed DC waveform on molten bismuth electrorefining in a molten LiCl-KCl-CaCl2 eutectic. Bismuth has been identified as a potential surrogate for plutonium electrorefining and a potential cathode in electrorefining used nuclear fuel (UNF). All electrorefining runs resulted in a high purity cathode ring and high yield with exception of the run using a low-frequency, high-amplitude superimposed AC waveform, which experienced some contamination and a lower yield. The other three AC superimposed DC runs experienced an average yield 6.7 % higher than the average yield of the DC runs. The electrorefining run using the high-frequency, high-amplitude superimposed AC signal had the highest yield. It is recommended in future studies to investigate the statistical variability of electrorefining yield and current efficiency and the impact of AC superimposed DC waveforms on solidified bismuth anodes.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. The authors also wish to acknowledge the support of Chao Zhang and David Roberts for their technical advice.

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