Skip to main content

An Evaluation of the Electrometallurgical Approach for Treatment of Excess Weapons Plutonium (1996) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:

3 Modifications of the Spent Fuel Processing Flow Sheet
Pages 17-21

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 17...
... Whether this uranium product is recycled for further energy production, denatured with natural uranium to a lower enrichment, or stored pending disposition decisions, the technology for separating it from the parent feed appears to be viable. The recovery and disposal of the waste streams, which include the metallic fuel cladding and the fission products, take two paths.
Read the entire page →
From page 18...
... zeolites containing the transuranics and the alkali metal, alkaline earth, and rare-earth and other fission products. In the ANL process, the zeolites would be converted to a glass-bonded zeolite waste form, and the miscellaneous metals would be formed into ingots of a corrosion-resistant metal waste form (a zirconium-iron alloy)
Read the entire page →
From page 19...
... Choosing to allow the transuranic elements to accumulate with most of the fission products in the salt would permit their removal from the salt by ion exchange with anhydrous zeolite and subsequent stabilization in the GBZ waste form (see Figure 2~. For the application of the electrometallurgical treatment technology to plutonium disposition, ANL proposes that the addition of CsCl from the Hanford capsules would provide most of the radiation field to create the radiation barrier, allowing the waste forms to meet the "spent fuel standard." For the treatment of the large majority of surplus WPu, which is in the form of plutonium metal pits, ANL has proposed converting the metal to the hydride and then chlorinating the hydride in the electrorefiner vessel.2 That part of the plutonium inventory already in the chloride form could also be added directly to the electrorefiner vessel.
Read the entire page →
From page 20...
... An option has also been presented by ANL for adding plutonium trichIoride into the salt as it is fed Into the zeo~te Ion exchange step shown on the flow sheet. The PuCI3 would come either from the conversion of plutonium metal in weapons pits via hydriding followed by chlorination, or from the direct addition of plutonium chloride from other waste forms such as pyrochemical processing salts from other DOE sites.
Read the entire page →
From page 21...
... ~-of rid -- -- o The lithium reduction/regeneration portion of the proposed process has not been adequately demonstrated on the different fuels to allow adoption as a pretreatment step for plutonium disposition. MODIFIED FLOW SHEET: RECOMMENDATIONS · Pretreatment requirements for the nonmetal plutonium feed streams should be determined and, if possible, R&D should be started to validate the treatment and subsequent compatibility with the electrometallurgical process.
Read the entire page →

Key Terms

  • spent fuel
  • waste form
  • fission products
  • weapons plutonium
  • excess weapons

  • waste forms
  • processing flow
  • flow sheets
  • transuranic elements
  • electrometallurgical processing

  • radiation barrier
  • fuel processing
  • feed streams
  • metal waste
  • electrometallurgical process

  • plutonium disposition
  • lithium reduction
  • gbz waste
  • natural uranium
  • feed appears

  • metallic waste
  • lower enrichment
  • disposition decisions
  • pending disposition
  • zeolite sorption

  • plutonium feed
  • stored pending
  • energy production
  • electrometallurgical treatment
  • ion exchange


    • This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
    More information on Chapter Skim is available.