Open AccessNEW LABORATORY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ZIRCEX PROCESS
Author(s) -
T.A. Gens,
R.L. Jolley
Publication year - 1961
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/4000618
Subject(s) - uranium , nitric acid , dissolution , zirconium , chemistry , solvent , aqueous solution , corrosion , inorganic chemistry , solvent extraction , carbon tetrachloride , nuclear chemistry , enriched uranium , depleted uranium , environmental chemistry , extraction (chemistry) , radiochemistry , materials science , metallurgy , organic chemistry
A new Zircex flowsheet is proposed in which the nonvolatile products from hydrochlorination of uranium-zirconium alloys are chlorinated with carbon tetrachloride, thereby avoiding the loss of 1 to 6% of the uranium observed in engineering development studies of the older flowsheet for STR fuel in which the hydrochlorination residue was dissolved in nitric acid. Other potential advantages of the new flowsheet include decreased corrosion and elimination of possible explosions between uranium--zirconium alloys and nitric acid. The uranium may be recovered by aqueous dissolution and solvent extraction or by gas- phase fluorination at 200 to 400 deg C of uranium chlorides. (auth