液态镉阴极钚铀共沉积回收及其与镧系元素分离研究

Research on Liquid Cadmium Cathode Plutonium-uranium Co-deposition Recovery and Its Separation from Lanthanide Elements

  • 摘要: 熔盐电解精炼是乏燃料干法后处理的关键步骤。为阐明铀、钚在液态镉阴极的电化学行为及镧系元素的分离机制,本文系统研究了U3+、Pu3+及典型镧系离子在LiCl-KCl熔盐中的电还原与分离特性。结果表明,不同Pu/U摩尔比条件下,铀和钚在熔盐中的残留率分别为0.83%~0.99%和0.94%~1.00%;铀和钚在阴极产品中的收率分别为92.79%~93.53%和91.9%~93.92%。在锕系与镧系分离方面,铀和钚的残留率分别为0.99%和0.94%,产品收率分别为93.6%和90.6%,铀和钚与镧系元素的分离系数达到32~50。

     

    Abstract: Molten salt electrolytic refining is a critical step in the pyroprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. In order to clarify the electrochemical behavior and separation mechanisms of uranium and plutonium in liquid cadmium cathodes, and to reveal the competitive reaction patterns between actinide and lanthanide elements, the electroreduction and separation characteristics of U3+, Pu3+, and representative lanthanide ions in LiCl-KCl molten salt were systematically investigated in this paper. A series of electrochemical measurements and separation experiments were carried out under controlled conditions to evaluate the deposition behavior and separation efficiency. The experimental results indicate that under different Pu/U molar ratios, the residual rates of uranium and plutonium in the molten salt remain as low as 0.83% to 0.99%, while their recovery yields in the cathode product range from 92% to 94%. These values demonstrate the high efficiency of the liquid cadmium cathode for actinide recovery. With respect to the separation of actinides from lanthanides, which is one of the major challenges in partitioning and transmutation strategies, the results show that uranium and plutonium exhibit residual rates of 0.99% and 0.94%, respectively. The corresponding product recovery yields fall within the range of 90.6% to 93.4%, indicating that both elements are effectively collected at the cathode while most lanthanides remain in the salt phase. The separation performance between uranium and lanthanide elements was further evaluated by calculating separation coefficients, which are found to range from 32 to 50. These values reflect a favorable selectivity for uranium over lanthanides under the given experimental conditions. In summary, the findings of this study provide quantitative insights into the electrochemical behavior and separation performance of key actinides in molten salt media. The results contribute to a better understanding of the underlying separation mechanisms and support the development of more efficient pyrochemical processes for spent fuel treatment.

     

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