DOI

https://doi.org/10.25772/AEGX-5P85

Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0001-8685-6026

Defense Date

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering

First Advisor

Supathorn Phongikaroon

Abstract

The presence of group I/II fission products (Cs-137, Sr-90, and Ba-137) within molten salt nuclear processes degrades operational efficiencies by contributing to increased radiation levels in the case of material handling processes or to loss of criticality in the case of a reactor. While methods such as zone freezing and ion exchange have been proven for the separation of these fission products in LiCl-KCl salts, they require extra equipment and processing steps. Addition of a liquid metal electrode to molten salt media, such as the electrorefiner of a pyroprocessing scheme or the salt cleaning stage of a molten salt fast reactor, offers the possibility to selectively extract group I/II fission products with minimal extra equipment. This work has studied the fundamental electrochemical behaviors of Cs, Sr, Ba, and Ce in LiCl-KCl at a liquid Bi cathode and produced values for their mass transport and kinetics properties. These have allowed for an assessment of a Bi cathode for electrochemical separations in a pyrochemical processing scheme.

Rights

© Michael Woods

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

12-13-2019

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