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TRP -> Campaign/Number -> TRP 19
TRP 19. Dissolution, Reactor, and Environmental Behavior of
ZrO2-MgO Inert Fuel Matrix
July 2004 - Current
Research Objectives & Methods
This project examines inert fuels containing ZrO2 and MgO as the inert matrix. Ceramics with this inert matrix, Ce, U and Pu will each be synthesized and examined. This project will provide the necessary data for evaluating the performance, reprocessing, and waste behavior of the MgO-ZrO2 fuels from a quantified, chemical perspective.
The research objectives of this project are as follows:
- To examine the neutronic behavior of MgO-ZrO2 inert fuels. Results will be used as parameters for fuel composition.
- To synthesize and characterize MgO-ZrO2 ceramics containing burnable poison and fissile composition. Synthesis is based on a precipitation method. Results will be applied to behavior in high temperature water, acid, and environmental conditions.
- To describe the chemical behavior of synthesized ceramics.
- To utilize project data in kinetic and thermodynamic modeling codes to evaluate the speciation of the elements in the ceramics under reactor, reprocessing, and repository conditions.
Researchers
- Ken Czerwinski, Chemistry
- Thomas Hartmann, Harry Reid Center
- Frederic Poineau, Harry Reid Center
Collaborators
- Mitchell Meyer, Idaho National Laboratory
- Eugene Shwageraus, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Students
- Kiel Holliday, Ph.D., Radiochemistry
- Earl Wolfram, Ph.D., Radiochemistry
- Deborah Calloway, Undergraduate, Chemistry
- Paul Lawson, Undergraduate, Chemistry
- Wendy Pemberton, Undergraduate, Chemistry
- Emil Fridman, VisitingGraduate Student, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
- Sergei Kolesnikov, VisitingGraduate Student, Ben Gurion University of the Negev