This study shows that spent UO2 fuel can be completely dissolved in a carbonate-peroxide solution apparently without attacking the metallic Mo-Tc-Ru-Rh-Pd fission product phase. Samples of spent nuclear fuel were pulverized and sieved to a uniform size, then duplicate aliquots were weighed into beakers for analysis. One set was dissolved in near-boiling 10M nitric acid, and the other set was dissolved in a solution of ammonium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide at room temperature. All the resulting fuel solutions were then analyzed for Sr-90, Tc-99, Cs-137, plutonium, and Am-241. For all the samples, the concentrations of Cs-137, Sr-90, plutonium, and Am-241 were the same for both the nitric acid dissolution and the ammonium carbonate-hydrogen peroxide dissolution, but the technetium concentration of the ammonium carbonate-hydrogen peroxide fuel solution was only about 25% of the same fuels dissolved in hot nitric acid.
Revised: July 1, 2010 |
Published: January 31, 2010
Citation
Soderquist C.Z., and B.D. Hanson. 2010.Dissolution of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Carbonate-Peroxide Solution.Journal of Nuclear Materials 396, no. 2-3:159-162.PNNL-SA-68562.doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2009.11.001