Chlorination Of Uo2 And (U,Zr)O-2 Solid Solution Using Mocl5

Conversion of UO2 and (U0.5Zr0.5)O-2 solid solution into chlorides by MoCl5 was performed in order to confirm the applicability of the chlorination by MoCl5 to a pretreatment of fuel debris by pyrochemical methods. Chlorination of (U0.5Zr0.5)O-2 powders and dense pieces was successfully achieved at 573 and 773 K, respectively, based on the following chemical reaction: 2(U0.5Zr0.5)O-2 + 4MoCl(5) = UCl4 + ZrCl4 + 4MoOCl(3). Rough separation of MoCl5, ZrCl4 and MoOCl3 from UCl4 was achieved by volatilization under temperature gradient. From these results, fundamental feasibility of the chlorination method using MoCl5 as a pretreatment of fuel debris was shown.