AN OXY HYDROCHLORINATION PROCESS FOR PREPARING URANIUM-MOLYBDENUM REACTOR FUELS FOR SOLVENT EXTRACTION:LABORATORY DEVELOPMENT

摘要

A flowsheet, based on laboratory-scale data, is presented for oxyhy dechlorination of 90% uranium—10% molybdenum alloy (CPPD reactor core) with 15% HCl—air at 400°C in 18 hr. Up to 90% of the molybdenum is volatilized during oxyhydrochlorination and another 3-6% is removed by a 2-hr treatment with pure hydrogen chloride at 400°C. Residual chloride is removed by a 4-hr treatment with moist air at 400°C, and the product uranium oxide is dissolved in 4 M nitric acid to yield a stable solvent extraction feed solution of 1 M uranium, 0.017 M molybdenum, 175 ppm chloride, and 1.7 M nitric acid. The stainless steel cladding of the original fuel would be removed mechanically and the core recanned in aluminum prior to transfer to the core processing facility. The aluminum can would be removed by hydrochlorination prior to core treatment.