| Uranium can be recovered from uranium-oxide (UO2) spent fuel through the combination of oxide reduction and electrorefining processes. During oxide reduction, the spent fuel is introduced to molten LiCl-Li 2O salt at 650°C, and the UO2 is reduced to uranium metal via two routes: (1) electrochemically, and (2) chemically by lithium metal (Li°) that is produced electrochemically. However, the hygroscopic nature of both LiCl and Li2O leads to the formation of LiOH, contributing hydroxyl anions (OH-), the reduction of which interferes with the Li° generation required for the chemical reduction of UO 2. In order for the oxide reduction process to be an effective method for the treatment of uranium-oxide fuel, the role of moisture in the LiCl-Li 2O system must be understood. The behavior of moisture in the LiCl-Li 2O molten-salt system was studied using cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, and chronoamperometry while reduction to hydrogen was confirmed with gas chromatography. |
