Study on the leaching behavior of actinides from nuclear fuel debris

作者：Kirishima Akira^*; Hirano Masahiko; Akiyama Daisuke; Sasaki Takayuki; Sato Nobuaki

来源：Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2018, 502: 169-176.

DOI：10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.02.018

• Fukushima NPP
• Severe accident
• Fuel debris
• Contaminated water
• Actinides
• Leaching
• Uranium
• Plutonium
• Neptunium
• Americium

For the prediction of the leaching behavior of actinides contained in the nuclear fuel debris generated by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in Japan, simulated fuel debris consisting of a UO2 -ZrO2 solid solution doped with Cs-137, Np-237, Pu-236, and Am-241 tracers was synthesized and investigated. The synthesis of the debris was carried out by heat treatment at 1200 degrees C at different oxygen partial pressures, and the samples were subsequently used for leaching tests with Milli-Q water and seawater. The results of the leaching tests indicate that the leaching of actinides depends on the redox conditions under which the debris was generated; for example, debris generated under oxidative conditions releases more actinide nuclides to water than that generated under reductive conditions. Furthermore, we found that, as Zr(IV) increasingly substituted U(IV) in the fluorite crystal structure of the debris, the actinide leaching from the debris decreased. In addition, we found that seawater leached more actinides from the debris than pure water, which seems to be caused by the complexation of actinides by carbonate ions in seawater.

• 出版日期2018-4-15