Electrorefining test of U-Pu-Zr alloy fuel prepared pyrometallurgically from MOX

Kitawaki, Shinichi ; Nakayoshi, Akira  ; Fukushima, Mineo ; Sakamura, Yoshiharu*; Murakami, Tsuyoshi*; Akiyama, Naoyuki*

In the FaCT project, the metal fuel cycle including metal fuel fast reactor and pyrochemical reprocessing has been being developed. JAEA and CRIEPI have continued a collaborative study on pyrochemical reprocessing. In the pyrochemical reprocessing, actinides in the spent fuels dissolve anodically in the LiCl-KCl, and U is collected selectively on a solid cathode, Pu and MA are recovered simultaneously in a liquid Cd cathode. In the previous electrorefining tests, at the anode Zr was allowed to dissolve into the electrolyte salt together with U, Pu and MA. The Zr co-dissolution may cause some problems. In this study, through the anode dissolution test of U-Pu-Zr alloy fuel, the controlling the dissolution of the Zr and the improvement of dissolution ratio of U, Pu were studied. The U-Pu alloy was prepared from MOX pellets by using the electrochemical reduction method. U-Pu-Zr ternary alloy was produced by alloying the obtained U-Pu alloy and prepared U-Zr alloy. U-Pu-Zr ternary alloy was immersed into electrolyte salt, and electrolysis test was carried out.