Cold crucible deployment in La Hague facility: the feedback from the first 4 years of operation - 5345

In April 2010, a Cold Crucible Induction Melter (CCIM) started hot operation for the first time ever in an existing very high active facility (R7) at La Hague. The CCIM has now been operated for more than four years, essentially processing active effluents from DD (Deactivation and Decommissioning) operations and high-level liquid waste from reprocessed U-Mo-Sn-Al spent fuel. The CCIM was inspected after each campaign and the remaining glass after draining pour is easily detachable and does not adhere to the melter structure. Inspections of the melter after removal of the remaining glass show that its structure is clean and corrosion-free. The expected performances of the CCIM, in terms of protection of the equipment by the solidified layer of glass, are therefore validated at the industrial scale. A methodology has been developed for detecting temperature measurement drift by using cross-checking parameters. Different optimizations have been implemented on the bubblers. Their lifetime is now in accordance with the life time of an industrial CCIM. The feasibility of vitrifying highly corrosive UMo fission product solutions in a cold crucible melter at industrial scale has been demonstrated