Fission Product Removal From Spent Oxide Fuel By Head-End Processing

The development of a head-end processing step for spent oxide fuel that applies to both aqueous and pyrometallurgical technologies is being performed by the Idaho National Laboratory, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute through a joint International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative. The processing step employs high temperatures and oxidative gases to promote the oxidation of UO2 to U3O8. Potential benefits of the head-end step include the removal or reduction of fission products as well as separation of the fuel from cladding. Experiments have been performed with irradiated oxide fuel to evaluate the removal of fission products. During these experiments, operating parameters such as temperature and pressure have been varied to discern their effects on the behavior of specific fission products. In general, the extent of removal increases with increasing operating temperature and decreasing pressure. Removal efficiencies as high as 98% have been achieved during testing. Given the results of testing, an explanation of the likely fission product species being removed during the test program is also provided. In addition, experiments have been performed with other oxidative gases (steam and ozone) on surrogates to determine their potential benefit for removal of fission products