Pyrometallurgical Reprocessing of Fast Reactor Metallic Fuel—Development of A New Electrorefiner with A Ceramic Partition

A new electrorefiner with a ceramic partition has been developed for pyrometallurgical reprocessing of metallic fuel. In this electrorefiner, dissolution of spent fuel and deposition take place simultaneously, resulting in an increase of the processing rate. The feasibility of this electrorefiner was confirmed by a polarization profile and a current efficiency of an electrotransportation of uranium from a pure uranium anode to an iron cathode through a liquid cadmium pool. Separation of active fission products from actinide was confirmed by a transportation of simulating fission product elements with and without imposing electropotential. The maximum cathode current density onto a liquid cadmium pool without formation of a dendrite was measured against the concentration, and it was found to decrease with increasing concentration of uranium in cadmium. The estimated time required to process 50 kg of heavy metal by the new electrorefiner was less than that of the original electrorefiner.