Effect of Depleted-Uranium Dioxide Particulate Fill on Spent-Nuclear-Fuel Waste Packages

2000 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Uranium Dioxide ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Depleted Uranium ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

scholarly journals Depleted Uranium Oxides and Silicates as Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Package Fill Materials

1996 ◽  
Vol 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Fission Products ◽  
Depleted Uranium ◽  
Improve Performance ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Reducing Conditions ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

ABSTRACTA new repository waste package (WP) concept for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is being investigated. The WP uses depleted uranium (DU) to improve performance and reduce the uncertainties of geological disposal of SNF. The WP would be loaded with SNF. Void spaces would then be filled with DU (∼0.2 wt % 235U) dioxide (UO2) or DU silicate-glass beads.Fission products and actinides can not escape the SNF UO2 crystals until the UO2 dissolves or is transformed into other chemical species. After WP failure, the DU fill material slows dissolution by three mechanisms: (1) saturation of WP groundwater with DU and suppression of SNF dissolution, (2) maintenance of chemically reducing conditions in the WP that minimize SNF solubility by sacrificial oxidation of DU from the +4 valence state, and (3) evolution of DU to lower-density hydrated uranium silicates. The fill expansion minimizes water flow in the degraded WP. The DU also isotopically exchanges with SNF uranium as the SNF degrades to reduce long-term nuclear-criticality concerns.

Depleted Uranium Dioxide Waste Package for Spent Nuclear Fuel

2002 ◽  
Vol 713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Forsberg ◽  
Leslie R. Dole
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Uranium Dioxide ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Natural Uranium ◽  
Depleted Uranium ◽  
Radiation Shielding ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Uranium Ore ◽  
Ore Bodies

ABSTRACTDepleted uranium dioxide (DUO2) waste packages (WPs) for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) are being investigated to (1) reduce radionuclide releases from WPs, (2) decrease the potential for repository nuclear criticality events, (3) provide radiation shielding, and (4) provide a means to beneficially use excess depleted uranium (DU). The DUO2 is incorporated into the WP as (1) a particulate fill for void spaces within the package and (2) a component of a DUO2-steel cermet (DUO2 embedded in steel) that replaces the steel components of the WP. Depending upon the design, there is 3 to 8 times as much DUO2 as SNF UO2 in the WP. Most radionuclides in the SNF cannot be released until the UO2 crystal structure is destroyed. The DUO2 surrounding the SNF slows the degradation of the SNF UO2 in the interior. This behavior is similar to the mechanisms that slow the degradation of natural uranium ore bodies containing UO2. The results of initial investigations and the expected thermodynamic WP behavior are described.

Long-Term Stability of Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Packages in Gorleben Salt Repository Environments

1998 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Grambow ◽  
Andreas Loida ◽  
Emmanuel Smailos
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Term Stability ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

Conversion of uranium dioxide and real spent nuclear fuel into nitrates

2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. V. Bonding ◽  
S. I. Bychkov ◽  
Yu. A. Revenko ◽  
I. G. Efremov ◽  
A. A. Murzin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Uranium Dioxide ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel

Extraction and Reductive Stripping of Pertechnetate from Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Streams

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya A. Shkrob ◽  
Timothy W. Marin ◽  
Dominique C. Stepinski ◽  
George F. Vandegrift ◽  
John V. Muntean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Waste Streams ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste ◽  
Reductive Stripping

Technetium and Molybdenum in Oxide Spent Nuclear Fuel: Impact on Release Estimates

2004 ◽  
Vol 824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Fortner ◽  
A. Jeremy Kropf ◽  
Robert J. Finch ◽  
James C. Cunnane
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Fluorescence Spectroscopy ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Uranium Dioxide ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Aqueous Solubility ◽  
Dissolution Testing ◽  
Coordination Environment ◽  
X Ray ◽  
State Coordination

AbstractTechnetium-99 99Tc) is an important radionuclide in repository models owing to its relatively long half-life and the high aqueous solubility of compounds where it is inthe heptavalent state. The vast majority of the 99Tc inventory presently slatedfor disposal is contained in oxide commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF), where it is divided (along with its cohort, molybdenum) betweenexsolved, intermetallic “epsilon” particles and isolated, likely oxidized, atoms distributed in the uranium dioxide matrix. We present recent evidence from synchrotron x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and fuel dissolution testing on the likely oxidation state, coordination environment, and physical disposition of technetium and molybdenum in CSNF. Effects of the relative proportioningof technetium and molybdenum among the metallic and oxidized states in CSNF, andtheir distribution in or near grain boundaries and gaps on release during CSNF corrosion testing are discussed.

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