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Article: Electrometallurgically treating metal, oxide, and al alloy spent nuclear fuel types
- Article from:
- JOM
- Article date:
- July 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Minerals, Metals & Materials Society Jul 1997. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Electrorefining uranium in a molten salt bath is the key step in the electrometallurgical treatment of spent nuclear fuels. The versatility of the electrometallurgical treatment suggests its use for a variety of spent fuel types, as well as for nonnuclear metal-separation applications.
INTRODUCTION
The science of electrometallurgy for the production and refining of metals has been in commercial use for well over a century;1 the technology in high-temperature, molten-salt systems was developed for the purification of plutonium during the Manhattan Project. The application of high-temperature electrochemistry to the treatment of spent nuclear fuels grew out of a combination of the plutonium ...