Development of a simple reprocessing process using selective precipitant for uranyl ions; Engineering studies on systems for precipitating and separating

Yamasaki, Kazuhiko*; Chikazawa, Takahiro*; Tamaki, Yoshihisa*; Kikuchi, Toshiaki*; Hanzawa, Masatoshi*; Morita, Yasuji  ; Ikeda, Yasuhisa*

The simple reprocessing method based on precipitation using N-cyclohexyl-2-pyrrolidone (NCP) as a selective precipitant for U and Pu ions from dissolved solutions of spent FBR fuels has been developed. On the basis of fundamental studies on precipitation behaviors, we designed and built up the scaled-up laboratory equipments (1/20-scale of future plant capacity of 200 tHM/y) to evaluate technological and economical feasibility. This system, which mainly consists of a precipitator and a precipitate separator, should be operated continuously from economical reasons. From the experimental results, it was confirmed that the precipitator is capable of producing UO-NCP precipitate stably with stipulated residence time (approximately 30 min), and the precipitate separator has the highly efficient separation of precipitate from the slurry. Furthermore, the parametric experiments indicated that the rinsing operation increased the efficiency in decontamination of FP elements.