Nitrate conversion and supercritical fluid extraction of UO2-CeO2 solid solution prepared by an electrolytic reduction-coprecipitation method

A low-waste technology for the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) has been developed recently, which involves the conversion of actinide and lanthanide oxides with liquid N2O4 into their nitrates followed by supercritical fluid extraction of the nitrates. The possibility of the reprocessing of SNF from high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) with nitrate conversion and supercritical fluid extraction is a current area of research in China. Here, a UO2-CeO2 solid solution was prepared as a surrogate for a UO2-PuO2 solid solution, and the recovery of U and Ce from the UO2-CeO2 solid solution with liquid N2O4 and supercritical CO2 containing tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) was investigated. The UO2-CeO2 solid solution prepared by electrolytic reduction-coprecipitation method had square plate microstructures. The solid solution after heat treatment was completely converted into nitrates with liquid N2O4. The XRD pattern of the nitrates was similar to that of UO2(NO3)2 . 3H2O. After 120 min of online extraction at 25 MPa and 50 , 99.98% of the U and 98.74% of the Ce were recovered from the nitrates with supercritical CO2 containing TBP. The results suggest a promising potential technology for the reprocessing of SNF from HTGRs. (orig.)