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Electrochemical Model of Uranium Dioxide Dissolution in Nitric Acid

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The aim of this work is to validate the electrochemical model of the dissolution of uranium nitride in nitric acid. It is shown that uranium nitride dissolution in water solutions of HNO3 can be explained by the presence of electrochemical processes which are interrelated but proceed separately: UN dissolution at the anode, subsequent chemical decomposition of UN in the space near the anode, and oxidation of HNO3 at the cathode. The proposed model explains the isotopic composition and ratio of the products formed in the gas phase. The mechanism of the process of uranium nitride dissolution in nitric acid can be described by the total reaction 6UN + 25HNO3 → 6UO2(NO3)2 + 3NH3 + N2 + N2O + 6NO + 6NO2 + 8H2O.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences (IFKhE RAN), Moscow, Russia

    B. G. Ershov & S. A. Kulyukhin

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  1. B. G. Ershov
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  2. S. A. Kulyukhin
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Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 118, No. 4, pp. 207–210, April, 2015.

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Ershov, B.G., Kulyukhin, S.A. Electrochemical Model of Uranium Dioxide Dissolution in Nitric Acid. At Energy 118, 261–264 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-015-9990-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-015-9990-9

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