Effect of the thorium oxide content on the leaching of a mixed thorium-uranium oxide fuel
Journal article, 2022

Leaching of uranium from uranium oxide fuel in contact with water can be a radiation hazard problem in the case of fuel cladding failure, either during nuclear reactor operation or in an interim storage, as well as in a final repository. One way to mitigate this is to reduce the solubility of the fuel matrix by the mixing uranium oxide with a compound which is less soluble but otherwise of similar properties. In this paper, the effect of thorium oxide content on the leaching of the uranium oxide matrix is investigated. The method was to study the leaching of the uranium oxide fuel matrix as a function of a varying content of thorium oxide, using materials manufactured by powder co-milling. It was found that the substitution of more than 25% UO2 with ThO2 reduces the matrix leaching by more than one order of magnitude in most of the different leaching solutions investigated. The substitution of 7% UO2 with ThO2 results in a reduction of matrix leaching by 10-90%, depending on the concentration of borate and dissolved oxygen in the leaching solution.

Solubility

Final repository

Interim storage

Thorium oxide

Nuclear fuel

Fuel cladding failure

Leaching

Uranium oxide

Author

Klara Insulander Björk

University of Gothenburg

Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic, High Energy and Plasma Physics

Stellan Holgersson

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Energy and Material

Mattias Thuvander

Chalmers, Physics, Microstructure Physics

Christian Ekberg

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Energy and Material

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

0236-5731 (ISSN) 1588-2780 (eISSN)

Vol. 331 7 2849-2857

Subject Categories

Ceramics

Chemical Process Engineering

Other Chemical Engineering

DOI

10.1007/s10967-022-08347-5

More information

Latest update

3/7/2024 9