AN OXYHYDROCHLORINATION PROCESS FOR PREPARING URANIUM-MOLYBDENUM REACTOR FUELS FOR SOLVENT EXTRACTION: LABORATORY DEVELOPMENT

A flowsheet, based on laboratory-scale data, is presented for oxyhydrochlorination of 90% uranium --10% molyhdenum alloy with 15% HCl in air at 4OO deg C in 18 hr. Up to 90% of the molybdenum is volatilized during oxyhydrochlorination and another 3 to 6% is removed by a 2-hr treatment with pure hydrogen chloride at 400 deg C. Residual chloride is removed by a 4-hr treatment with moist air at 400 deg C, and the product uranium oxide is dissolved in 4M nitric acid to yield a stable solvent extraction feed solution of 1M uranium, 0.017M molybdenum, 175 ppm chloride, and 1.7M nitric acid. The stainless steel cladding of the original fuel would be removed mechanically and the core recanned in aluminum prior to transfer to the core processing facility. The aluminum can would be removed by hydrochlorination prior to core treatment. (auth