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Oxidation of spent fuel in air at 175 degree to 195 degree C [electronic resource].

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 1992.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description
Pages: (10 pages) : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
Oxidation tests in dry air were conducted on four LWR spent fuels at 175° and 195°C to determine the effect of the fuel characteristics on the oxidation state likely to exist at the time leaching occurs in a potential repository. Weight changes were measured and samples were examined by XRD, ceramography, TEM, and TGA. Despite local variations in the grain boundary susceptibility to oxidation, all four fuels progressed toward an apparent endpoint at an oxygen-to-metal (O/M) ratio of 2.4. The sole oxidation product was U₄O{sub 9+x,} a cubic phase structurally related to UO₂ but with a slightly smaller lattice constant. The growth of the U₄O{sub 9+x} from the grain boundaries into the UO₂ grains followed parabolic kinetics and had an activation energy of 26.6 kcal/mol. Based on the kinetics, the time required at 95°C to completely oxidize LWR spent fuel to U₄O{sub 9+x} would be at least 2000 yr. The next oxidation product to form after the U₄O{sub 9+x} phase may be U₃O{sub 8,} but no U₃O₈ or other dilatational oxidation product has been detected in these accelerated tests conducted up to 25,000 h.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:pnl-sa-20380
E 1.99: conf-920430--78
conf-920430--78
pnl-sa-20380
Subject(s)
Other Subject(s)
Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
04/01/1992.
"pnl-sa-20380"
" conf-920430--78"
"DE92012349"
International high level radioactive waste management (IHLRWM) conference: promoting understanding through education and communication, Las Vegas, NV (United States), 12-16 Apr 1992.
Thomas, L.E.; Stout, R.B.; Einziger, R.E.; Buchanan, H.C.
Funding Information
AC06-76RL01830
View MARC record | catkey: 14418992