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Effects of Air Oxidation on the Dissolution Rate of LWR Spent Fuel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1992

W. J. Gray ,
L. E. Thomas  and
R. E. Einziger
W. J. Gray
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
L. E. Thomas
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
R. E. Einziger
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
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Abstract

Dissolution rates for air-oxidized spent fuel were measured in flowthrough tests where U concentrations were kept well below the solubility limit. Results from two types of specimens, separated grains and coarse particles, both in oxidized (U4O9+x) and unoxidized (UO2) conditions indicated only minor effects of oxidation on the surface-area-normalized rates. Similar results were obtained for unirradiated specimens in three different oxidation states (UO2, U3O7, and U3O8). These observations have important practical implications for disposal of spent fuel in a geologic repository as well as implications regarding the oxidative dissolution mechanism of UO2 fuel.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 294: Symposium V – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XVI , 1992 , 47
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993

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References

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