Recovery of uranium using electrorefining with an anode-liquid cathode module (ALCM) in molten LiCl-KCl-UCl₃-NdCl₃ and cadmium distillation

A laboratory-scale anode-liquid cathode module was used to recover uranium (U) from molten LiCl-KCl salt bearing uranium (U) and neodymium (Nd). The influences of the salt composition and the anodic reaction on the amount of U and Nd recovered from the liquid Cd cathode (LCC) were examined. The anode type did not affect the U/Nd ratio in the LCC product significantly when the ratio of U/Nd in the salt was 1.2-1.5. The eight process runs led to the recovery of U in high yield, with 2-5 wt% of co-deposited Nd. (author)