SAFETY STUDIES OF THE SHEAR-LEACH PROCESSING OF ZIRCALOY-2-CLAD SPENT NUCLEAR FUELS.

TL;DRAbstract

by reactions involving uranium metal. Very little pyrophoric activity was observed in leeached cladding hulls, indicating a very low probability for safety problems resulting from the U-Zr intermetallic zone in N-Reactor fuel. Consideration of the potential role of hydrides in the fires observed at NFS indicates that they were also not important factors. Consideration was also given to protective atmospheres to be used during shearing to prevent excessive reaction during that operation. A water deluge during shearing will likely provide adequate safety while meshing well with other process considerations. Studies on the dissolution of metallic uranium in nitric acid show an initial slower reaction followed by a faster reaction that proceeds at a sustained rate for a prolonged period of time. At solution concentrations typical of those encountered in practical uranium dissolver conditions, this sustained rate is governed by an equation such as: Dissolution rate = K (surface area) ((HNO3

Chat with Paper

AI Agents for this Paper