Search Results
Abstract
It is important to increase a throughput of the salt removal process from uranium deposits which is generated on the solid cathode of electro-refiner in pyroprocess. In this study, it was proposed to increase the throughput of the salt removal process by the separation of the liquid salt prior to the distillation of the LiCl–KCl eutectic salt from the uranium deposits. The feasibility of liquid salt separation was examined by salt separation experiments on a stainless steel sieve. It was found that the amount of salt to be distilled could be reduced by the liquid salt separation prior to the salt distillation. The residual salt remained in the deposits after the liquid salt separation was successfully removed further by the vacuum distillation. It was concluded that the combination of a liquid salt separation and a vacuum distillation is an effective route for the achievement of a high throughput performance in the salt separation process.
Abstract
The spontaneous reduction of Eu3+ to Eu2+ was examined when EuCl3 was added into a pyroprocessing media of LiCl molten salt at 923 K. The amount of Eu2+ was calculated by measuring the total charge consumed to oxidize Eu2+ ions to Eu3+ ions. The concentration ratio of Eu2+ to Eu3+ was estimated to be about 0.40 in the media. In addition, it is confirmed that the reduction of Eu3+ to Eu2+ is caused by the oxidation power of Cl− to Cl2. The coexistence of Eu3+ and Eu2+ in the LiCl molten salt system was examined by UV–Visible and luminescence spectroscopy. The molar absorptivities of Eu3+ and Eu2+, calculated from UV–Visible absorption spectra, were 423 and 1954 M−1 cm−1, respectively.
Simulating minerals pyroprocessing by thermal analysis
Clinkerisation of cement raw mixes
Abstract
TG and DTA studies on laboratory cement raw mixes and raw dolomite have been extensively reported in the literature. This paper discusses four aspects. (1) Calcination kinetics of raw mix by isothermal TG and calculation of rate constants to derive activation energy by Arrhenius plots. (2) Quantification by TG of minerals in Indian laterites. The amount of goethite appears to influence burnability of raw mix. (3) Determination of practical heat of clinker formation from DTA studies and establishment of enthalpy temperature relationship of raw mix for heat transfer studies in rotary kilns. (4) Prediction of material temperature profile in a dolomite kiln from DTA studies of raw dolomite.
Abstract
The distillation behaviour of cadmium at a reduced pressure was investigated to develop an actinide recovery process from a liquid cadmium cathode in a laboratory scale cadmium distiller. The apparent evaporation rate of cadmium increased with an increasing temperature whereas the rate decreased with an increasing vacuum pressure. The evaporation rate of cadmium varied within 9.7–40 g/cm2/h in the temperature range of 500–650 °C and pressure range of 0.5–10 Torr (0.0667–1.33 kPa). The theoretical values calculated by the Hertz–Langmuir relation were much higher than experimentally measured values. The deviation was compensated by an evaporation coefficient (α) obtained empirically. About 0.02–0.20 wt% of residue was left in the crucible after distillation and found to be CdO. It could be concluded that the temperature range of 500–650 °C is favourable for the cadmium distillation process if residual eutectic salt does not exist in the cadmium alloy surface.
Abstract
A new two-step process was investigated to treat LiCl molten salt waste containing volatile radionuclides generated from an electro-metallurgical processing (pyro-processing) of spent oxide fuels. First, the chemical form of the soluble LiCl waste was transformed into a chloride-free and less soluble hydroxide compound by an electrochemical method, where an electrolytic de-chlorination was performed without adding any chemical salt. Then, a gelation process of the chemical form-changed Li compound, named gel-route stabilization/solidification (GRSS) system aimed to reduce the volatility of the radionuclides greatly, was introduced to stabilize/solidify the hydroxide salt wastes. The application of the electrochemical dechlorination/transformation process and the subsequent gel-route stabilization process to treat the soluble LiCl salt wastes was found to be effective.