Aqueous processing of U–10Mo scrap for high performance research reactor fuel

The Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) Conversion program, which is part of the US government’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), supports the conversion of civilian use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) for reactor fuel and targets. The reason for conversion is to eliminate the use of any material that may pose a threat to the United States or other foreign countries. High performance research reactors (HPRRs) cannot make the conversion to a standard LEU fuel because they require a more dense fuel to meet their performance requirements. As a result, a more dense fuel consisting of a monolithic uranium–molybdenum alloy containing 10% (w/w) Mo with Al cladding and a Zr bonding-layer is being considered. Significant losses are expected in the fabrication of this fuel, so a means to recycle the scrap pieces is needed. Argonne National Laboratory has developed an aqueous-processing flowsheet for scrap recovery in the fuel fabrication process for high-density LEU-monolithic fuel based on data found in the literature. Experiments have been performed to investigate dissolution conditions for solutions containing approximately 20 g-U/L and 50 g-U/L with and without Fe(NO3)3. HNO3 and HF concentrations have been optimized for timely dissolution of the fuel scrap and prevention of the formation of the U–Zr2 intermetallic, explosive complex, while meeting the requirements needed for further processing.