UNIT OPERATIONS SECTION MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT, NOVEMBER 1961

Openation of a 6-in.-dia foam separation column with Sr/sup 89/ tracer and dodecylbenzenesulfonate as a surfactant and foaming agent was continued. The catalytic oxidation of H/sub 2/, CO, and CH/sub 4/ was studied using a nickel- chromepalladium ribbon catalyst. A Mark I prototype fuel assembly was sheared to within 1.5-in. of the end by modifying the gas hydraulic system of the shear. The force required to shear a highly carburized Mark I fuel assembly ductile tubing. Demonstration of the mechanical dejacketing of the SRE Core I fuel burned to approximates 675 Mwd/ton and cooled about 2 years is complete, and decontamination and equipment removal from the segmenting cell is approximately 90% complete. Ten SRE Core I fuel jackets were dissolved in aqua regia and analysis showed negligible U and Pu. A semicontinuous leach run, in which -2 mesh graphite fuel containing 2.6% U was leached in 90% HNO/sub 3/ at 60 deg C, gave only 0.37% U loss. Graphically estimated spectral factors for radiation between tubes within fuel bundles and improved wall radiation factors were rised to calculate the temperature distribution expected within spent fuel elements. Further studies of the dissolution of zirconium oxide by HF in fused salt resulted in rates about twice as great as for Zr metal under similar conditions. (auth