Stabilization treatment of nuclear fuel material contained with organic matter

Senzaki, Tatsuya; Arai, Yoichi; Yano, Kimihiko; Sato, Daisuke; Tada, Kohei; Ogi, Hiromichi*; Kawanobe, Takayuki*; Ono, Shimpei; Nakamura, Masahiro; Kitawaki, Shinichi; et al.

JAEA-Testing 2022-001, 28 Pages, 2022/05

JAEA-Testing-2022-001.pdf:2.33MB

In preparation for the decommissioning of Laboratory B of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratory, the nuclear fuel material that had been stored in the glove box for a long time was moved to the Chemical Processing Facility (CPF). This nuclear fuel material was stored with sealed by a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bag in the storage. Since it was confirmed that the PVC bag swelled during storage, it seems that any gas was generated by radiolysis of the some components contained in the nuclear fuel material. In order to avoid breakage of the PVC bag and keep it safety for long time, we began the study on the stabilization treatment of the nuclear fuel material. First, in order to clarify the properties of nuclear fuel material, radioactivity analysis, component analysis, and thermal analysis were carried out. From the results of thermal analysis, the existence of organic matter was clarified. Then, ion exchange resin with similar thermal characteristics was selected and the thermal decomposition conditions were investigated. From the results of these analyzes and examinations, the conditions for thermal decomposition of the nuclear fuel material contained with organic matter was established. Performing a heat treatment of a small amount of nuclear fuel material in order to confirm the safety, after which the treatment amount was scaled up. It was confirmed by the weight change after the heat treatment that the nuclear fuel material contained with organic matter was completely decomposed.

Chemical forms of uranium evaluated by thermodynamic calculation associated with distribution of core materials in the damaged reactor pressure vessel

Ikeuchi, Hirotomo; Yano, Kimihiko; Washiya, Tadahiro

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(6), p.704 - 718, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1720844

To suggest efficient process of the fuel debris treatment after the retrieval from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (1F), thorough investigation is indispensable on potential source of U in the fuel debris. Estimation on the fuel debris accumulated in the reactor pressure vessel is specifically important due to its limited accessibility. The present study aims to estimate the chemical forms of U in the in-vessel fuel debris, especially in the minor phases such as metallic phases, by performing the thermodynamic calculation considering the material relocation and changing environment during the accident progression in the 1F Unit 2. Input conditions for the thermodynamic calculation such as composition, temperature, and oxygen amount were assumed mainly based on the results of severe accident analysis. The chemical form of U varied depending on the local amount of Fe and O. In regions of low steel content, the U-containing metallic phase was dominated by -(Zr,U)(O), while regions of high steel content were dominated by Fe(Zr,U) (Laves phase). A few percent of U was transferred to the metallic phases under reducing conditions, raising challenging issues on the chemical removal of nuclear material from fuel debris.

Characterization of the VULCANO test products for fuel debris removal from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Kitagaki, Toru; Ikeuchi, Hirotomo; Yano, Kimihiko; Ogino, Hideki; Haquet, J.-F.*; Brissonneau, L.*; Tormos, B.*; Piluso, P.*; Washiya, Tadahiro

Progress in Nuclear Science and Technology (Internet), 5, p.217 - 220, 2018/11

https://doi.org/10.15669/pnst.5.217

Mechanical properties of cubic (U,Zr)O

Kitagaki, Toru; Hoshino, Takanori; Yano, Kimihiko; Okamura, Nobuo; Ohara, Hiroshi*; Fukasawa, Tetsuo*; Koizumi, Kenji

Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science, 4(3), p.031011_1 - 031011_7, 2018/07

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4039847

Purification of uranium products in crystallization system for nuclear fuel reprocessing

Takeuchi, Masayuki; Yano, Kimihiko; Shibata, Atsuhiro; Sambommatsu, Yuji*; Nakamura, Kazuhito*; Chikazawa, Takahiro*; Hirasawa, Izumi*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 53(4), p.521 - 528, 2016/04

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2015.1060907

Mechanical properties of fuel debris for defueling toward decommissioning

Hoshino, Takanori; Kitagaki, Toru; Yano, Kimihiko; Okamura, Nobuo; Ohara, Hiroshi*; Fukasawa, Tetsuo*; Koizumi, Kenji

Proceedings of 23rd International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE-23) (DVD-ROM), 6 Pages, 2015/05

Dissolution behavior of (U,Zr)O-based simulated fuel debris in nitric acid

Ikeuchi, Hirotomo; Ishihara, Miho; Yano, Kimihiko; Kaji, Naoya; Nakajima, Yasuo; Washiya, Tadahiro

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 51(7-8), p.996 - 1005, 2014/07

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2014.924445

Direction on characterization of fuel debris for defueling process in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Yano, Kimihiko; Kitagaki, Toru; Ikeuchi, Hirotomo; Wakui, Ryohei; Higuchi, Hidetoshi; Kaji, Naoya; Koizumi, Kenji; Washiya, Tadahiro

Proceedings of International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference; Nuclear Energy at a Crossroads (GLOBAL 2013) (CD-ROM), p.1554 - 1559, 2013/09

Nitric acid concentration dependence of dicesium plutonium(IV) nitrate formation during solution growth of uranyl nitrate hexahydrate

Nakahara, Masaumi; Kaji, Naoya; Yano, Kimihiko; Shibata, Atsuhiro; Takeuchi, Masayuki; Okano, Masanori; Kuno, Takehiko

Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, 46(1), p.56 - 62, 2013/01

https://doi.org/10.1252/jcej.12we175

The influence of HNO concentration in the solution on the formation of CsPu(NO) was evaluated in the U crystallization process. The solubility of CsPu(NO) in a uranyl nitrate solution was found to decrease with increasing HNO concentration in the solution. In the U crystallization experiments with the dissolver solution of irradiated fast reactor fuel, CsPu(NO) formed with 6.5 mol/dm HNO concentration in the mother liquor, and the decontamination factor of Cs for the uranyl nitrate hexahydrate crystals was low. Meanwhile, CsPu(NO) did not precipitate with uranyl nitrate hexahydrate crystals under the condition of 4.0 mol/dm HNO concentration in the mother liquor, and Cs could be separated from the uranyl nitrate hexahydrate crystals.

FaCT Phase I evaluation on the advanced aqueous reprocessing process, 5; Research and development of uranium crystallization system

Shibata, Atsuhiro; Yano, Kimihiko; Sambommatsu, Yuji; Nakahara, Masaumi; Takeuchi, Masayuki; Washiya, Tadahiro; Nagata, Masanobu*; Chikazawa, Takahiro*

Proceedings of International Conference on Toward and Over the Fukushima Daiichi Accident (GLOBAL 2011) (CD-ROM), 6 Pages, 2011/12

JAEA has been developing a U crystallization process. The development targets were DFs of over 100, confirmation of mechanical performance of crystallizer, and so on. Fundamental data were obtained by beaker-scale experiments with actual dissolver solution. DFs for most of the FPs are improved by washing. However the formation of Pu-Cs double salt causes low DF of Cs. To confirm the mechanical performance of an annular type crystallizer and a crystal separator, some experiments were carried out. The crystallizer and the separator have good performance. However washing of UNH crystals by the separator did not have the intended effect for solid impurities. We discussed the application of crystal purification technology to improve the purity and selected KCP. UNH crystal purification tests were carried out using bench-scale KCP apparatus with simulated solid impurities. The purifier has good performance on the decontamination of not only liquid impurities but also solid impurities.