Fuel Cycle Technology for PPU Concept; Based on the Aqueous Reprocessing and Oxide Fuel

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小島 久雄; 野村 和則  ; 森本 恭一 ; 原田 秀郎   

Ojima, Hisao; Nomura, Kazunori; Morimoto, Kyoichi; Harada, Hideo

新しい世紀における原子力の平和利用のより一層の促進や持続可能な世界の繁栄への貢献に向けた高い核拡散抵抗性を有するプルトニウムの実用化と題して、第1回国際科学技術フォーラムが開催される。本フォーラムの主題に応じて、先進リサイクル研究開発部で進めている再処理プロセス、燃料製造技術、核データ測定技術等の概要や特に核拡散抵抗性向上に資するNp回収技術の現状を報告する。

The application of the fluoride volatility process in the reprocessing of fuel from the fast breeder reactor is regarded as one of the economical methods. Plutonium hexafluoride (PuF6), however, reacting with fluorine (F2) and plutonium dioxide (PuO) as the raw material, is in an unstable condition and tends to remain as a solid compound in the process after decomposing into plutonium tetrafluoride (PuF4). Suitable conditions should be established for the practical use of this process. One of them is to enhance the stability of PuF. The behaviour of plutonium fluorination and relevant chemical reactions were investigated by referring to sundry literature and by thermodynamic calculation. It was then compared with recent data from laboratory scale experiments for this paper. Results from the theoretical analysis agreed with experimental observation that PuF could be formed stably under a high temperature condition (approx.1000 K) with over supply of figher concentration of F2.