Comparison of uranium dissolution rates from spent fuel and uranium dioxide

TL;DRAbstract

Two similar sets of dissolution experiments, resulting from a statistical experimental design were performed in order to examine systematically the effects of temperature (25--75{degree}C), dissolved oxygen (0.002-0.2 atm overpressure), pH (8--10) and carbonate concentrations (2--200 {times} 10{sup {minus}4} molar) on aqueous dissolution of UO{sub 2} and spent fuel. The average dissolution rate was 8.6 mg/m{sup 2}{center_dot}day for UO{sub 2} and 3.1 mg/m{sup 2}{center_dot}day for spent fuel. This is considered to be an insignificant difference; thus, unirradiated UO{sub 2} and irradiated spent fuel dissolved at about the same rate. Moreover, regression analyses indicated that the dissolution rates of UO{sub 2} and spent fuel responded similarly to changes in pH, temperature, and carbonate concentration. However, the two materials responded very differently to dissolved oxygen concentration. Approximately half-order reaction rates with respect to oxygen concentration were found for UO{

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