Phase analysis of simulated nuclear fuel debris synthesized using UO, Zr, and stainless steel and leaching behavior of the fission products and matrix elements

Tonna, Ryutaro*; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Kodama, Yuji*; Kobayashi, Taishi*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kirishima, Akira*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Watanabe, Masayuki

Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 55(4), p.1300 - 1309, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2022.12.017

Simulated debris was synthesized using UO, Zr, and stainless steel and a heat treatment method under inert or oxidizing conditions. The primary U solid phase of the debris synthesized at 1473 K under inert conditions was UO, whereas a (U,Zr)O solid solution formed at 1873 K. Under oxidizing conditions, a mixture of UO and (Fe,Cr)UO phases formed at 1473 K whereas a (U,Zr)O solid solution formed at 1873 K. The leaching behavior of the fission products from the simulated debris was evaluated using two methods: the irradiation method, for which fission products were produced via neutron irradiation, and the doping method, for which trace amounts of non-radioactive elements were doped into the debris. The dissolution behavior of U depended on the properties of the debris and aqueous medium the debris was immersed in. Cs, Sr, and Ba leached out regardless of the primary solid phases. The leaching of high-valence Eu and Ru ions was suppressed, possibly owing to their solid-solution reaction with or incorporation into the uranium compounds of the simulated debris.

Study on the relation between the crystal structure and thermal stability of FeUO and CrUO

Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kusaka, Ryoji; Kumagai, Yuta; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Nagai, Takayuki; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kirishima, Akira*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 568, p.153847_1 - 153847_10, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.153847

FeUO, CrUO, and FeCrUO are monouranates containing pentavalent U. Even though these compounds have similar crystal structures, their formation conditions and thermal stability are significantly different. To determine the factors causing the difference in thermal stability between FeUO and CrUO, their crystal structures were evaluated in detail. A Raman band was observed at 700 cm in all the samples. This Raman band was derived from the stretching vibration of the O-U-O axis band, indicating that FeCrUO was composed of a uranyl-like structure in its lattice regardless of its "x"' value. Mssbauer measurements indicated that the Fe in FeUO and FeCrUO were trivalent. Furthermore, FeCrUO lost its symmetry around Fe with increasing electron densities around Fe, as the abundance of Cr increased. These results suggested no significant structural differences between FeUO and CrUO. Thermogravimetric measurements for UO, FeUO, and CrUO showed that the temperature at which FeUO decomposed under an oxidizing condition (approximately 800 C) was significantly lower than the temperature at which the decomposition of CrUO started (approximately 1250 C). Based on these results, we concluded that the decomposition of FeUO was triggered by an "in-crystal" redox reaction, i.e., Fe U Fe U, which would not occur in the CrUO lattice because Cr could never be reduced under the investigated condition. Finally, the existence of Cr in FexCrUO effectively suppressed the decomposition of the FeCrUO crystal, even at a very low Cr content.

Uranium dissolution and uranyl peroxide formation by immersion of simulated fuel debris in aqueous HO solution

Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kirishima, Akira*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Sasaki, Takayuki*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(8), p.961 - 971, 2022/08

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2021.2023055

We investigated potential degradation of fuel debris caused by HO, which is the oxidant of major impact from water radiolysis. We performed leaching experiments on different kinds of simulated debris comprising U, Fe, Cr, Ni, and Zr in an aqueous HO solution. Chemical analysis of the leaching solution showed that U dissolution was induced by HO. Raman analysis after the leaching revealed that uranyl peroxides were formed on the surface of the simulated debris. These results demonstrate that uranyl peroxides are possible alteration products of fuel debris from HO reaction. However, the sample in which the main uranium-containing phase was a U-Zr oxide solid solution showed much less uranium dissolution and no Raman signal of uranyl peroxides. Comparison of these results indicates that formation of an oxide solid solution of Zr with UO improves the stability of fuel debris against HO reaction.

A Study of HO-induced oxidative degradation of simulated fuel debris

Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kirishima, Akira*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Sasaki, Takayuki*

Hoshasen Kagaku (Internet), (113), p.61 - 64, 2022/04

The severe accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station resulted in generation of fuel debris. The fuel debris is in contact with water and the radiolysis of water can accelerate degradation of the debris. The analysis of particles sampled from inside or near the damaged reactors indicates the complicated compositions of the fuel debris. It is challenging to estimate the effect of water radiolysis on such a complicated material. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the potential degradation process by leaching experiments of simulated fuel debris in aqueous HO solution. The results show that the reaction of HO induced uranium dissolution from most of the samples and then formation of uranyl peroxides. In contrast, a sample that had U-Zr oxide solid solution as the major phase exhibited remarkable resistance to HO. These findings revealed that the degradation of the simulated debris reflects the reactivity and stability of the uranium phase in the matrices.

Stoichiometry of lanthanide-phosphate complexes at the water surface studied using vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy and DFT calculations

Kusaka, Ryoji; Watanabe, Masayuki

Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 125(24), p.6727 - 6731, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c04583

Liquid interfaces related to lanthanide and actinide chemistry studied using vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy

Kusaka, Ryoji

Journal of Nuclear and Radiochemical Sciences (Internet), 20, p.28 - 31, 2020/06

http://www.radiochem.org/en/paper/JN201/jn20105.pdf

A Spectroscopic technique for analysis developed in the field of unclear energy

Kusaka, Ryoji

Bunko Kenkyu, 67(6), p.239 - 240, 2018/12

A spectroscopic technique for analysis developed by collaboration between Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) is discussed for readers outside the field of nuclear energy. This paper introduces a quantitative analysis for Pd radioisotope contained in a spent nuclear fuel by using laser-induced photoreduction and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The importance and problems of quantitative analysis for radioisotopes in spent nuclear fuels are described, and the principle, advantages, and future applications of the spectroscopic technique are discussed.

The Structure of a lanthanide complex at an extractant/water interface studied using heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation

Kusaka, Ryoji; Watanabe, Masayuki

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 20(4), p.2809 - 2813, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.1039/C7CP06758E

Solvent extraction plays an integral part in the separation and purification of metals. Because extractants generally used as complexing agents for metal extractions, such as di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP) for lanthanide extractions, are amphiphilic, they come to the organic/water interface, and the interface plays a crucial role as the site of the formation of metal complexes and subsequent transfer reaction to an organic phase. Despite the importance of the interface for solvent extractions, however, molecular-level structure of the interface is unclear because of experimental difficulty. Here we studied structure of a trivalent europium (Eu) complex with HDEHP formed at HDEHP monolayer/water interface by heterodyne-detected vibrational sum frequency generation (HD-VSFG) spectroscopy. The study on the HDEHP/water interface enables us to investigate the structure of the interfacial Eu complex by excluding the migration of Eu into an organic phase after the complex formation at the interface. The interface-selective vibrational Im spectra observed by HD-VSFG of HDEHP/Eu(NO) aqueous solution interface in the 2800-3500 cm region indicate that Eu at the HDEHP/water interface is bonded by HDEHP from the air side and by water molecules from the water side. To the best of our knowledge, such metal complex structures have not been identified in the organic or water solutions.

Single crystal diffractometers at J-PARC

Kusaka, Katsuhiro*; Ohara, Takashi; Yamada, Taro*; Kiyanagi, Ryoji

Hamon, 25(2), p.171 - 178, 2015/00

https://doi.org/10.5611/hamon.25.2_171

Study of increasing the beam power on the negative ion based neutral beam injector for JT-60U

Kuriyama, Masaaki; Akino, Noboru; Ebisawa, Noboru; Grisham, L. R.*; Hikida, Shigenori*; Honda, Atsushi; Ito, Takao; Kawai, Mikito; Kazawa, Minoru; Kusaka, Makoto*; et al.

Fusion Engineering and Design, 56-57(Part.A), p.523 - 527, 2001/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0920-3796(01)00341-6

no abstracts in English