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COMPLETE DOCUMENT (1862 kb) - OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

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Figure II.11 Flow sheet of pyro-reprocessing of spent fuel (ANL/CRIEPI)<br />

1.2.2.2 Pyrochemical separation of transuranic elements from high-level liquid waste<br />

The process investigated at CRIEPI to recover transuranic elements from high-level PUREX<br />

wastes consists of denitration to oxides, chlorination, reductive extraction and electrorefining in a LiCl-<br />

KCl/Cd or LiCl-KCl/Bi system. After denitration and leaching with water to remove the soluble alkalimetal<br />

nitrates, the undissolved oxides (mainly of actinides, rare earths and transition metals) and<br />

platinum-group metals are converted into chlorides in a bed of LiCl-KCl at above 700°C.<br />

The mixed chlorides are reductively extracted or electrorefined in contact with liquid cadmium<br />

or bismuth [43,47]. Thermodynamic data for actinides and rare earth elements in this system are needed<br />

to establish the separation process. The flowsheet illustrated in Figure II.12 is based on the results of<br />

small-scale tests.<br />

Electrorefining may be used merely for a rough separation of uranium before counter-current<br />

reductive extraction, but can afford a more complete separation between transuranic and rare-earth<br />

elements. A small-scale experiment showed that over 99% of each actinide could be recovered from a<br />

simulated waste. The treatment of highly-active salt waste is also shown in the figure. The LiCl-KCl<br />

mixture can be recycled after purification, while the salts of fission products are electrolytically<br />

decomposed and converted to oxides for vitrification in borosilicate glass [48].<br />

The waste produced throughout the process is expected to be minimal, since most of the<br />

materials (such as the eutectic salt, cadmium and bismuth metal, and chlorine) will be recycled. As an<br />

alternative treatment, waste might be solidified directly into an artificial rock such as zeolite or sodalite<br />

with high integrity and leach resistance [49]. Further technological assessment requires a pilot-scale<br />

demonstration with the full range of actinides.<br />

136

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