Pyroprocessing of oxidized sodium-bonded fast reactor fuel - An experimental study of treatment options for degraded EBR-II fuel

An experimental study was conducted to assess pyrochemical treatment options for degraded EBR-II fuel. As oxidized material, the degraded fuel would need to be converted back to metal to enable electrorefining within an existing electrometallurgical treatment process. A lithium-based electrolytic reduction process was studied to assess the efficacy of converting oxide materials to metal with a particular focus on the impact of zirconium oxide and sodium oxide on this process. Bench-scale electrolytic reduction experiments were performed in LiCl-Li₂O at 650 °C with combinations of manganese oxide (used as a surrogate for uranium oxide), zirconium oxide, and sodium oxide. The experimental study illustrated how zirconium oxide and sodium oxide present different challenges to a lithium-based electrolytic reduction system for conversion of select metal oxides to metal.