Research Article, J Nucl Ene Sci Power Generat Technol Vol: 5 Issue: 4
Reusability Test for Ceramic Crucibles as Liquid Cadmium Cathode Containers in Pyroprocessing
| Gha-Young Kim1,2*, Tack-Jin Kim1, Si-Hyung Kim1, Seungwoo Paek1, Junhyuk Jang1 and Sung-Jai Lee1 | |
| 1Nuclear Fuel Cycle Process Development, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, Republic of Korea | |
| 2University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea | |
| Corresponding author : Gha-Young Kim
Nuclear Fuel Cycle Process Development, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daedeok-daero 989-111, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34057, Republic of Korea Tel: +82-42-868-4588 Fax: +82-42-868-2990 E-mail: gkim@kaeri.re.kr |
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| Received: July 14, 2016 Accepted: August 06, 2016 Published: August 09, 2016 | |
| Citation: Kim GY, Kim TJ, Kim SH, Paek S, Jang J, et al. (2016) Reusability Test for Ceramic Crucibles as Liquid Cadmium Cathode Containers in Pyroprocessing. J Nucl Ene Sci Power Generat Technol 5:4. doi:10.4172/2325-9809.1000162 |
Abstract
The compatibility of various ceramic crucibles (AlN, BeO, and SiC) for repeated use in pyroprocessing was investigated. Each ceramic crucible loaded with liquid cadmium was immersed in molten chloride salt containing uranium and rare earth elements (Nd, Ce, and La) at 500 °C to perform an electrodeposition, followed by heating to 920°C to separate the metal deposits from Cd during distillation. Repeated process runs showed that the ceramic crucibles could be recycled and reused, more specifically, 7 times for AlN, >13 times for BeO, and 4 times for the SiC crucible. Considering the reactivity of ceramic materials with metal deposits as well as their durability at high temperature, the crucible composed of BeO was concluded to be suitable for use in electrorefining and distillation.
