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A method for the separation of U and RE from LiCl–KCl eutectic salt containing a high concentration of RE

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Abstract

In the pyroprocessing of used nuclear fuel, it is difficult to recover U in a recyclable form from LiCl–KCl eutectic salt containing a high concentration of rare earths (REs) by co-deposition of U and RE. To derive a solution to this problem, it is necessary to develop a technology to reduce the RE concentration or separate the RE in the salt. To this end, an integrated process of chemical conversion of UCl3 into an oxide form and electro-deposition of NdCl3 in a metal form was evaluated using a simulated LiCl–KCl salt containing about 1.4 wt% of UCl3 and 4.0 wt% NdCl3 in this study. Through the integrated process, higher than 99% conversion efficiency of U was obtained and the concentration of Nd in the simulated salt was reduced to less than 1/100. It is expected that the integrated process also can be applied effectively to the recovery of U from LiCl–KCl eutectic salt containing a high concentration of RE.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (Grant No. 521230-23, Republic of Korea)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radwaste Management Center, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daedeok-daero 989-111, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34057, Republic of Korea

    Hee-Chul Eun, Tack-Jin Kim, Woo-Shin Park & Dong-Su Kim

  2. Quantum Energy Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Gajeong-ro 217, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea

    Hee-Chul Eun

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  1. Hee-Chul Eun
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  2. Tack-Jin Kim
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  3. Woo-Shin Park
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  4. Dong-Su Kim
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Correspondence to Hee-Chul Eun.

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Eun, HC., Kim, TJ., Park, WS. et al. A method for the separation of U and RE from LiCl–KCl eutectic salt containing a high concentration of RE. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 4567–4572 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-09160-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-09160-4

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