This lecture describes the chemistry of actinides and fission products in reactors, primarily focusing on phases formed in nuclear fuel. The fission process is reviewed and fuel burnup discussed. Determining fission product and actinide concentration to assess burnup is introduced. The variation of fission product and actinide concentration with burnup and initial fuel composition is provided. Axial and radial distribution of activity, fission products, and actinides is discussed, highlighting the role of neutron flux and energies on the distribution. Conditions necessary for the formation of separate phases in UO2 are shown for perovskite and metallic phases, emphasizing the role of oxygen in the process. The behavior of fission products can be grouped into 4 areas: volatile species, metallic precipitates, oxide precipitates, and solid solutions.
PDF Quiz 16, the final PDF Quiz, is now posted.
ReplyDeleteGood lecture on the properties of reactor fuel. It was interesting to learn where the Pu was formed during operation, I thought it would have been distributed differently.
ReplyDeleteIt shows the influence of neutron energy on the Pu formation. The same properties are used in advanced reactors to breed and burn Pu.
ReplyDeleteWhere can I find the lecture?
ReplyDeletethe lecture is at: http://radchem.nevada.edu/classes/chem312/lect%2016%20reactor%20fuel%20chem.html
DeleteI just noticed some dead links need to fix.
I found it. I use the drop down menu, so I forgot about the outline menu on the class website. Thank you.
DeleteI just fixed it so it works the way you used it. Thank you very much for pointing this out.
DeleteIn the slide with the periodic table labeling the fission products, I was wondering how Cs was considered a volatile element even though it isn't a high electronegative element like Xe or I?
ReplyDeleteCs is volatile as CsI. From page 10 in the lecture data is discussed that demonstrate CsI as the volatile species in fuel. In the readings from this lecture there is a further discussion on the stability of CsI in fuel.
DeleteExcellent questions!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe comments and answers to PDF Quiz 16 are posted.
ReplyDeleteCannot believe that this is the end of the class. This lecture was quite insightful for the reactions and actually tied to what we were discussing in our physical chemistry class, about reactions and nuclear reactors. While we are learning the more mathematical process in that class, this helped with understanding the process and cleared up a lot of questions I had about the actual process. The explanations of different products (ie. volatile and metallic) was also very interesting because one usually assumes that a product will only appear in one way/phase not multiple.
ReplyDeletethanks for your comments, especially those linking the topic with other courses.
DeleteSo I think this is the end of the class, but it was pretty interesting overall. There's a lot more to this field and I think it's potential is pretty amazing.
ReplyDeletethanks for your comments Alex.
ReplyDeleteThis lecture provided more of the application of radiochemistry, which was interesting. I was wondering what is the energy cost when supplying heat for the fission process to occur vs the energy production? I noticed that these reactions require very high temperatures.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting lecture considering what is going on in the world today about nuclear enrichment in general and different kinds of reactors. this is the last lecture so i want to thank you Dr Ken. This branch of chemistry is something certainly unique and interesting than the "regular" chemistry classes.
ReplyDeleteI really felt that this was a good wrap to the course. Thank your for a great semester! I learned so much.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading research articles on the Lanthanides due to dealing with them in research so it was great to go through the lecture on the actinides and the fission products through reactors.
ReplyDelete