De studie over de electrolytische afzetting van Ag+ en Pd2+ uit een salpeterzure MOX oplossing en de electrolytische reductie van U(VI) naar U(IV).

The Japanese Institute for research and innovation (IRI) cooperates with the SCK•CEN for several years in the development of an alternative reprocessing process for the PUREX (Pu and U recovery by extraction) process. The ERIX process is intended to separate uranium and plutonium from the fission products to recycle these two radioactive materials. The minor Actinides (Am, Cm and Np) and the fission products can be separated and converted later on by transmutation to shorten the long-lived radio nuclides (partitioning and transmutation). In this work, the electrolytic separation of Pd2+ and Ag+ is studied from a nitric acid UO2 solution and later on from a nitric acid MOX solution. Also the electrolytic reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) is examined. These are the two electrolytic operations which will probably be used in the ERIX process. These experiments show that the electrolytic separation of Pd2+ and Ag+ is only applicable for separating Pd2+ and Ag+ from a nitric acid UO2 solution. In the MOX solution, the electrolytic separation not applicable, because of a influence of the radio nuclides (radiation). The electro reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) is applicable for reducing U(VI) in a nitric acid UO2 solution.