Kinetic aspects of the behavior of a continuous electrolyzer dedicated to actinides and lanthanides oxidation applied to their separation

As part of SESAME developments, a continuous electrochemical reactor has been tested for the in-line oxidation of various species as americium, ruthenium or cerium. The cerium(III) case has been chosen as a model to develop a predictive kinetic modeling of the reactor performances for oxidations. The optimal effect of an oxidation mediator may be described and the importance of some parameters was pointed out like the residence time, the anode material and the concentrations ratio between the substrate to oxidize and the mediator. This modeling will be extrapolated to the optimal electrolyzer design for the americium oxidation in the presence of lacunary heteropolyanions. (authors)