Zirconium nitride as inert matrix for fast systems

Zirconium nitride has been proposed as inert matrix material to burn plutonium or to transmute long-lived actinides in accelerator-driven sub-critical systems or fast reactors. In combination with the possibility to fabricate specially shaped fuel pellets, e.g. barrel with a hole, an innovative fuel would be designed to reach higher burnup.The current project aims to use the direct coagulation casting process to shape mixed plutonium zirconium nitride annular pellets. As a backup option the conventional powder-pressing route is used to produce standard pellets. Gibbs energy calculations were used to optimise the thermal treatment of carborthermic reduction to yield mixed nitride powders. The status quo of the powder and pellet production as well as the first analytical results are presented in the following.