Simulation of Electrolyzer Processes for the Reprocessing of Spent Nuclear Fuel
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AND MASS TRANSFER AND PHYSICAL GASDYNAMICS
Simulation of Electrolyzer Processes for the Reprocessing of Spent Nuclear Fuel A. E. Galasheva, b, *, V. V. Stakhanovc, and Yu. P. Zaikova, b aInstitute
of High-Temperature Electrochemistry, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, 620219 Russia b Ural Federal University Named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg, 620002 Russia cRussian Federal Nuclear Center E.I. Zababakhin All-Russia Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics, Snezhinsk, 456770 Russia *e-mail: [email protected] Received October 4, 2019; revised November 22, 2019; accepted December 24, 2019
Abstract—The ANSYS software package is used to simulate a functioning electrolyzer for the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel via electrolysis in LiCl molten salt with the addition of Li2O. The seven considered types of electrolyzer design differ in their mutual arrangement of electrodes and anode thickness. The temperature field, as well as distributions of the current density and electric potential, are calculated. The optimal electrolyzer design is determined in order to achieve the best temperature and electrical characteristics. DOI: 10.1134/S0018151X20030062
INTRODUCTION With each passing year, the problem of the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) becomes more and more acute. One of the most effective methods of reprocessing of SNF (which consists mainly of UO2) that was not subjected to aging and has a high degree of burn-up is electrolysis at T = 650°С in LiCl molten salt with the addition of Li2O. This method is implemented with compact equipment, and the degree of UO2 reduction to metallic uranium can reach 100%. The method has been experimentally developed for the last 10 years in South Korea [1–4]. The use of this kind of pyroprocessing has been proposed for the conversion of spent oxide fuel extracted from the lightwater reactors to metallic fuel, which is irradiated in a fast neutron reactor [5]. However, this method has not been used in industrial SNF reprocessing. Many problems remain unsolved. The electrolysis process is not yet optimized, and there are many issues regarding materials that can withstand an aggressive medium at the working temperature. Many issues can be solved with the fundamental study of the reduction processes occurring on the cathode. A computer simulation of the functioning of an electrolytic cell with UO2 reduction to metallic uranium was performed in this work with the ANSYS software. Based on similar calculations imitating the SNF reduction process, a digital twin of the operating electrolyzer can be created in the future. The accidental loss of heat removal in the pool with spent fuel was analyzed with ANSYS [6]. ANSYS Fluent is frequently selected as a tool of computerized
fluid dynamics, since it includes suitable methods of finite volume for a realistic simulation of the thermal behavior of shipping casks, in particular, a container for SNF collection [7]. The problem of hydrogen production with a nuclear rea
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