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Distillation characteristics of LiCl–Li2O electrolyte for UO2 electrolytic reduction process

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Abstract

As a process improvement, the distillation and recovery of the salts used in UO2 electrolytic reduction is required. The basic characteristics of the distillation of a LiCl–Li2O electrolyte containing UO2 pellets were investigated. UO2 pellets were immersed in LiCl–Li2O (1.0 wt%) and the mixture was subjected to distillation at 930–740 °C under Ar gas at atmospheric pressure. The residual salt consisted of Li2O, whereas the distilled salt was identified as only LiCl. Due to the rapid heat transfer between the evaporator and the receiver, the successful distillation of LiCl at atmospheric pressure was achieved.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Nuclear R&D program of the Korean Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (No. 2012M2A8A5025697).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daedeok-daero 989-111, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-353, Republic of Korea

    Hyun Woo Kang, Eun-Young Choi, Sung-Wook Kim, Sun-Seok Hong, Min Ku Jeon, Sang-Kwon Lee, Seung-Cheol Oh, Wooshin Park & Jin-Mok Hur

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  1. Hyun Woo Kang
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Correspondence to Hyun Woo Kang.

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Kang, H.W., Choi, EY., Kim, SW. et al. Distillation characteristics of LiCl–Li2O electrolyte for UO2 electrolytic reduction process. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 310, 1165–1171 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-016-4936-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-016-4936-9

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