• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.261-267
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• 2010

The pyrometallurgical nuclear fuel recycle process, called pyroprocessing, has been known as a promising nuclear fuel recycling technology. Pyroprocessing technology is crucial to advanced nuclear systems due to increased nuclear proliferation resistance and economic efficiency. The basic concept of pyroprocessing is group actinide recovery, which enhances the nuclear proliferation resistance significantly. One of the key steps in pyroprocessing is "electrowinning" which recovers group actinides with lanthanide from the spent nuclear fuels. In this study, a vertical cadmium distiller was manufactured. The evaporation rate of pure cadmium in vertical cadmium distiller varied from 12.3 to $40.8g/cm^2/h$ within a temperature range of 773 923 K and pressure below 0.01 torr. Uranium - cadmium alloy was fabricated by electrolysis using liquid cadmium cathode in a high purity argon atmosphere glove box. The distillation behavior of pure cadmium and cadmium in uranium - cadmium alloy was investigated. The distillation behavior of cadmium from this study could be used to develop an actinide recovery process from a liquid cadmium cathode in a cadmium distiller.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2024

The electrochemical extraction of uranium in ternary low melting LiCl-KCl-CsCl eutectic on inert and reactive electrodes via different electrochemical techniques was investigated. It was established that the electrochemical reduction process of U(III) ions on the inert W electrode was irreversible and proceeded in one stage. On reactive liquid Ga and liquid Cd electrodes the reduction of uranium ions took place with the considerable depolarization with the formation of UGa₂, UGa₃ and UCd₁₁ intermetallic compounds. Thermodynamic characteristics of uranium compounds and alloys were calculated. The conditions for the extraction of uranium from the electrolyte in the form of alloys on both liquid reactive electrodes via potentiostatic electrolysis were found.