Uranium recovery via melt separation of rare earth elements and chemical oxidation

Pyroprocessing of spent fuels, especially the recovery of U, improves the overall efficiency of nuclear recycling. The recovery of U/Transuranic elements (TRU) during the removal of rare earth elements (REEs) via melting was evaluated. Uranium was used as a surrogate material instead of TRU, and the distributions of U, Nd, and Ce were evaluated after melting. Uranium and REEs were clearly separated after melting and the U component contained < 2 wt% of REEs as impurities. Melting recovery of U was applicable after the electrorefining process to obtain a high enough concentration of REEs above their solubility in U. The REE component contained ~3 wt% U, and U was also recovered through the chemical oxidation of REEs with UCl 3 . The U remaining in the product following chemical oxidation exceeded 87%. Based on these results, a new method of recovering U/Pu from U/Pu/REE-alloys following the electrorefining process is proposed. This approach can be used to improve the recycling of spent nuclear fuels, thereby enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of nuclear systems.