Electrolytic reduction of spent oxide fuel -- bench-scale test preparations.

Preparations are underway to demonstrate the electrolytic reduction of spent oxide nuclear fuel in the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) and Argonne National Laboratory--West (ANL-W). The electrolytic reduction process, developed by the Laboratory's Chemical Technology Division, operates in an electrochemical cell that uses a molten solution of lithium chloride and dissolved lithium oxide as the electrolyte. The spent oxide fuel is loaded into a permeable steel basket as the cathode in the electrochemical cell and a platinum electrode functions as the anode. When an electrical potential is applied, the uranium oxide and other metal oxides are reduced to metal and remain in the cathode basket. Oxygen gas is formed at the platinum anode and dissipates into the system's argon atmosphere. Once reduced to metal, the spent fuel is capable of further electrometallurgical treatment in an electrorefiner to recover uranium and to ultimately effect the disposition of fission products into ceramic and metal waste forms. Thus, the electrolytic reduction process expands the electrometallurgical treatment capability to include spent oxide fuel. This report describes the bench-scale test preparations that are underway to demonstrate the electrolytic reduction of spent oxide fuel.