Electrochemical Deposition with Redox Replacement of Lanthanum with Uranium in Molten LiCl-KCl
Jeffrey A. Eakin, Daniel E. Molina, Xiaofeng Guo, Haluk Beyenal, Cornelius F. Ivory
Abstract
Electrochemical recovery of dilute concentrations of actinides from spent nuclear fuel would reduce the longevity of storing high-level nuclear waste. Electrochemical deposition with redox replacement (EDRR) is used in a molten salt medium for the selective electrochemical recovery of uranium in the presence of excess concentrations of lanthanum. In each EDRR cycle, after a short electrodeposition pulse, the deposited lanthanum is spontaneously replaced by uranium at open circuit. After repeated cycles, uranium metal was obtained on a tungsten electrode immersed in a LiCl-KCl melt that contained 1 wt% lanthanum chloride—0.15 wt% uranium (IV) chloride. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis revealed uranium particles approximately 0.5−1 μ m with well-defined rectangular shapes; and with 20–60 times more uranium recovered on the surface of the electrode than lanthanum.