Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will design, fabricate, and test robust anode materials for recovering actinide elements from used LWR fuels through a molten salt electrochemical process. Current anode materials, which are typically fabricated from either platinum or graphite, are expensive, degrade rapidly, contaminate the reduced actinide product, and generate greenhouse gases when used to manufacture metallic products. The proposed anode materials consist of monolithic ruthenium metal, alloys of ruthenium and iridium (with transition metals), and ruthenium- and iridium-coated electrodes. The alloy anodes will be fabricated by electric field-assisted sintering/spark plasma sintering, and the coated anodes will be fabricated by cold spray and molten salt electroplating techniques. This project will identify new and cost-effective anode materials for not only recovering actinide elements from used oxide nuclear fuels without isolating pure plutonium but also for converting metal oxides to metals and alloys.

By enabling the secure and economical recycling of the nation’s inventory of LWR UNF, CURIE will have the following impacts: