Uranium processing during the treatment of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel

Several key technical areas have been developed during a demonstration program at Argonne National Laboratory to advance the electrometallurgical treatment of spent nuclear fuel, including equipment operating conditions, uranium-product purity and recovery, and processing rates. Operating conditions for three integral processing steps were optimized based on minimizing the impurities to the final uranium product while meeting program goals for processing rates. The overall recovery of uranium during the process steps was influenced by process conditions as well as the production rates set forth for the demonstration program. For more information, contact B.R. Westphal, Argonne National Laboratory, Nuclear Technology Department, P.O. Box 2528, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83403-2528; (208) 533-7398; fax (208) 533-7735; e-mail brian.westphal@anl.gov.