KR100972272B1 - Electrowinning apparatus capable of measuring weight of liquid cathode, recovering method of actinide elements and method of monitoring electrodeposit amount of actinide elements - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An electrowining device, a method for collecting actinide elements, and a method for monitoring the electrodeposition amount of the actinide elements are provided to accurately determine the finishing point of the electrowinning process by measuring the electrodeposition amount of the actinide elements in real time. CONSTITUTION: A first container(102) receives molten salt containing actinide elements. A liquid cathode assembly(106) includes a second container and a supporting unit. The second container receives the liquid cathode. The supporting unit fixes the second container on the molten salt. A load cell(122) measures the weight of the liquid cathode assembly. A controller(126) supplies a load cell control signal to the load cell. The controller receives data about the weight of the liquid cathode assembly from the load cell.

Description

Electrolytic smelting apparatus capable of measuring the weight of a liquid cathode, method for recovering actinide-based elements using the same, and method for monitoring actinide-based element electrodeposition amount {ELECTROWINNING APPARATUS CAPABLE OF MEASURING WEIGHT OF LIQUID CATHODE, RECOVERING METHOD OF ACTINIDE ELEMENTS AND METHOD OF MONITORING ELECTRODEPOSIT AMOUNT OF ACTINIDE ELEMENTS}

The present invention relates to the field of nuclear energy, and more particularly, to an electrolytic smelting apparatus for treating spent fuel, an actinide-based element recovery method and an actinide-based element electrodeposition amount monitoring method using the same.

Nuclear energy is facing a renaissance as a way to solve the problem of high oil prices and greenhouse gases, and nuclear energy is emerging again in conservative Europe. Accordingly, several countries in Asia, including the United States, Europe and Korea, are also hastening to build nuclear power plants. However, as the amount of nuclear power generation increases, the accumulation of spent fuel also increases, which leads to difficulty in long-term storage thereof. Therefore, in order to increase the use rate of nuclear energy, it is necessary to recycle the long-lived nuclides contained in spent nuclear fuel, and to study the nuclear fuel cycle for this purpose.

The spent fuel contains actinide-based elements with very long half-lives.These fuels can be separated and made into new fuel and used as fuel in special reactors to produce electricity commercially and to save space in the spent fuel disposal site. You can save.

In recent years, as one of the methods for separating the actinide-based elements, pyroprocessing technology has been actively studied, which has advantages of high nuclear proliferation resistance, simple apparatus, and low generation amount of waste. In the dry refining, the actinide element is recovered in the molten salt mainly by electrolysis. The dry refining consists of an electrolytic refining process of electrodepositing and separating pure uranium on a solid cathode, and an electrolytic refining process of simultaneously recovering uranium and transuranic (TRU) elements remaining in the molten salt using a liquid cathode. As the liquid cathode, for example, liquid cadmium is mainly used.

In the electrolytic refining process, it is necessary to recover very pure uranium using a solid cathode, in which case uranium must be recovered only until the ratio of plutonium / uranium in the molten salt reaches about 2.5 to 3 in consideration of the purity of uranium. do. Therefore, a considerable amount of uranium remains in the molten salt in which the electrolytic refining process is completed. The remaining uranium is recovered together with the TRU element using the liquid cathode in the electrolytic smelting process, which is a subsequent process of electrolytic refining.

On the other hand, in general, the quantitative target amount for recovering uranium and TRU elements using the liquid cathode is approximately 10% of the liquid cathode weight. At this time, whether the end of the operation is reached can be estimated by the amount of electricity applied for the electrodeposition, but this is an indirect method is limited in its accuracy.

The present invention provides an electrolytic smelting apparatus capable of directly measuring the electrodeposition amount of the actinide element electrodeposited on the liquid cathode, an actinide element recovery method using the same, and an actinide element electrodeposition amount monitoring method.

The present invention provides an electrolytic smelting apparatus that can accurately and easily grasp the electrodeposition amount of an actinide element electrodeposited on a liquid cathode in real time without interrupting the electrolytic smelting process, a method for recovering actinide elements using the same, and an electrodeposition amount of actinide elements using the same. Provide monitoring methods.

The present invention provides an electrolytic smelting apparatus capable of accurately and easily grasping the end point of an electrolytic smelting process, a method for recovering actinide-based elements using the same, and a method for monitoring electrodeposited element deposition.

The present invention provides an electrolytic smelting apparatus capable of accurately and easily grasping a change in current efficiency applied to an anode and a liquid cathode, that is, a liquid cathode during an electrolytic smelting process, a method for recovering actinide-based elements and a method for monitoring electrodeposite-based element deposition using the same To provide.

Electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first container for receiving the molten salt containing actinide-based elements; A liquid cathode assembly including a second container for receiving a liquid cathode for recovering the actinide-based element by receiving power, and a support for fixing the second container in the molten salt; And a load cell connected to the liquid cathode assembly and capable of measuring the weight of the liquid cathode assembly.

On the other hand, the actinide-type element recovery method using the electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of recovering the actinide element contained in the molten salt using a liquid cathode; And measuring the weight of the liquid cathode assembly including the liquid cathode.

On the other hand, the actinide-type element electrodeposition amount monitoring method using the electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the weight change of the liquid cathode when recovering the actinide element contained in the molten salt using a liquid cathode By sensing the electrodeposition amount of the actinide-based element electrodeposited on the liquid cathode can be monitored.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the electrodeposition amount of the actinide-based element electrodeposited on the liquid cathode in real time without stopping the electrolytic smelting process can be known accurately and easily. That is, since the electrodeposition amount of the actinide-based element electrodeposited on the liquid cathode during operation of the electrolytic smelting apparatus can be directly measured, the operating state of the liquid cathode can be monitored very efficiently and in real time. For this reason, the end point of the electrolytic smelting process can be known accurately and easily, and the operation situation can be easily grasped by comparing the amount of electricity and the weight change applied for electrodeposition during operation. In addition, although current is continuously applied to the liquid cathode during operation, even if the current efficiency decreases due to various reasons and the electrodeposition amount decreases, it is possible to monitor whether the current efficiency decreases by periodically sensing the weight change of the liquid cathode assembly. Therefore, when using the electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to ensure the stability, speed and accuracy of the actinide-based element recovery operation.

Hereinafter, an electrolytic smelting apparatus, an actinide-based element recovery method, and an actinide-based electrodeposition amount monitoring method using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electrolytic smelting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first container 102, a liquid cathode assembly 106, a load cell 122, and a controller 126. In addition, the electrolytic smelting apparatus 100 may further include a first stirrer 130, a second stirrer 134, a support fixing member 138, and a fixing releasing member 140. The first stirrer 130, the second stirrer 134, the support part fixing member 138, and the fixed unwinding member 140 may be added or removed as necessary, and accordingly, an electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 100 can be a combination of various configurations.

The first vessel 102 contains a molten salt 104 containing actinide-based elements. The actinide-based element is not particularly limited, but, for example, uranium (U) and transuranic (TRU), for example, neptunium (Np), plutonium (Pu), americium (Am) and curium (Cm) and the like. The molten salt 104 may be present in chloride form. The first container 102 may be formed of a material having excellent durability and mechanical strength, but is not particularly limited. For example, the first container 102 may be formed of a metal or a ceramic.

The liquid cathode assembly 106 includes a second container 108 and a support 120.

The second container 108 may be installed in the first container 102 to be immersed in the molten salt 104. The liquid cathode 110 may be accommodated in the second container 108. Herein, the liquid cathode 110, for example, liquid cadmium, is connected to the power supply 114 by the liquid cathode lead wire 112, and the power supply 114 is connected to the anode 118 by the anode lead wire 116. Connected. Therefore, when a current generated in the power supply unit 114 flows between the anode 118 and the liquid cathode 110 in contact with the molten salt 104, the liquid cathode 110 is contained in the molten salt 104. The actinide-based element can be recovered. The second container 108 may be formed of, for example, ceramics for electrical insulation of the second container 108 and the molten salt 104.

The support part 120 may be connected to the second container 108, and may fix the second container 108 in the molten salt 104. At this time, the lower portion of the support portion 120 may be installed while being immersed in the molten salt 104, while the upper portion of the support portion 120 may be installed in a state that is not immersed in the molten salt 104. Here, the present invention is not limited or limited by the shape of the support 120.

The load cell 122 may be connected to the liquid cathode assembly 106, for example, the support part 120, by a weight measurement connecting member 124, and may measure the weight of the liquid cathode assembly 106. have. Here, the present invention is not limited by the manner in which the load cell 122 measures the weight and / or the specific configuration of the load cell 122.

The controller 126 may be connected to the load cell 122 through the load cell signal line 128. The controller 126 may generate a load cell control signal for controlling the operation of the load cell 122, and may provide the generated load cell control signal to the load cell 122 through the load cell signal line. In addition, the controller 126 may receive data about the weight of the liquid cathode assembly 106 measured by the load cell 122 from the load cell 122, and record data about the weight as necessary. , Save, display, etc. In addition, the controller 126 may control the operation of each of the first and second agitators 130 and 134, and may also control the operation of the fixed release member 140.

The first stirrer 130 may be provided to stir the molten salt 104 contained in the first vessel 102. Operation of the first stirrer 130 may be controlled by the controller 126, for example. That is, the first stirrer 130 may be connected to the controller 126 through a first stirrer signal line 132, and the first stirrer control signal generated by the controller 126 may be the first stirrer signal line 132. ) May be provided to the first stirrer 130.

The second stirrer 134 may be provided to stir the liquid cathode 110 accommodated in the second vessel 108. The operation of the second stirrer 134 may be controlled by, for example, the controller 126. That is, the second stirrer 134 may be connected to the controller 126 through a second stirrer signal line 136, and the second stirrer control signal generated by the controller 126 may be the first stirrer signal line 132. ) May be provided to the second stirrer 134.

The support fixing member 138 may be positioned above the first container 102, and may be provided to fix the support 120 of the liquid cathode assembly 106.

The fixing release member 140 may perform a function of fixing or releasing the support 120 to the support fixing member 138. The fixed release member 140 may be controlled by the controller 126.

On the other hand, the actinide-based element recovery method using the electrolytic smelting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration is the actinide-based element contained in the molten salt 104 using the liquid cathode 110 Recovering the same, and measuring the weight of the liquid cathode assembly 106 including the liquid cathode 110. It will be described in more detail below.

First, current is applied to the anode 118 and the liquid cathode 110 through the power supply unit 114 to recover the actinide element in the molten salt 104 using the liquid cathode 110. In this case, the liquid cathode 110 may be stirred using the second stirrer 134 in order to prevent the uranium dendrites from being generated / grown on the liquid cathode 110 in the electrodeposition process of the actinide element, thereby preventing operation. have. In addition, the molten salt 104 may also be stirred using the first stirrer 130 to make the solute concentration constant.

During the electrodeposition operation using the liquid cathode 110, the weight of the liquid cathode assembly 106 is measured using the load cell 122. That is, when a load cell control signal is applied from the control unit 126 to the load cell 122, the load cell 122 measures the weight of the liquid cathode assembly 106 using the connection member 124 for weight measurement according to the control signal. It can be measured. In this case, data about the measured weight may be provided from the load cell 122 to the controller 126 through the load cell signal line 128. On the other hand, while it is difficult to measure the weight of the liquid cathode assembly 106 during operation, the weight measurement does not necessarily need to be performed continuously, it may be performed at regular time intervals or when necessary. In addition, the operation of the liquid cathode 110, that is, the recovery operation of the actinide element may be continuously performed during the weight measurement using the load cell 122. At this time, if necessary, weighing the operation of the various factors, for example, the first and second agitators (130, 134), etc. without affecting the operation of the liquid cathode 110, the weight measurement You can temporarily stop before. In addition, for a more accurate weight measurement, the second stirrer 134 may be raised above the surface of the liquid cathode 110 before the weight of the liquid cathode assembly 106 is measured. In addition, when the weight is measured, the support 120 may be released from the support fixing member 138 so that the liquid cathode assembly 106 may be free.

Since the weight of the actinide element electrodeposited on the liquid cathode 110 is about 10% of the total weight of the liquid cathode 110, the liquid cathode assembly 106 is preferably as light as possible. In addition, since the weight of the second stirrer 134 is to be excluded during the measurement of weight, it may be fixed to the support fixing member 138 well, or may need to be slightly lifted to the upper part during the measurement of weight.

On the other hand, Figure 2 is a view schematically showing the configuration of the electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electrolytic smelting apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 is substantially the same as the electrolytic smelting apparatus illustrated in FIG. Since it is the same, only the characteristic is demonstrated except the overlapping description.

Referring to FIG. 2, the electrolytic smelting apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first container 202, a liquid cathode assembly 206, a load cell 222, and a controller 226. In addition, the electrolytic smelting apparatus 200 may further include a first stirrer 230, a second stirrer 234, a support fixing member 238, a fixing release member 240, and a liquid cathode assembly moving unit 242. Can be. The control unit 226, the first stirrer 230, the second stirrer 234, the support fixing member 238, the fixing releasing member 240, and the liquid cathode assembly moving unit 242 may be adjusted as necessary. Accordingly, the electrolytic smelting apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be able to combine a variety of configurations. Here, reference numerals 212, 214, 216, 218, 220, 224, 228, 232, and 236 denote liquid cathode lead wires, power supply parts, anode lead wires, anodes, support parts, weighing connecting members, load cell signal lines, and first agitator signal lines, respectively. And a second stirrer signal line.

The liquid cathode assembly moving unit 242 may be connected to the liquid cathode assembly 206 through the shanghai copper connecting line 244, and may be connected to the control unit 226 through the moving unit signal line 246. The liquid cathode assembly moving unit 242 may lift the liquid cathode assembly 206 onto the surface of the molten salt 204 before weighing the liquid cathode assembly 206 under the control of the controller 226. . In addition, the liquid cathode assembly moving unit 242 measures the weight of the liquid cathode assembly 206 by the control of the control unit 226, and then the second container 208 of the liquid cathode assembly 206 is the molten salt. 204 can be locked. When raising and lowering the liquid cathode assembly 206, it is desirable to maintain a very slow speed so that the liquid cathode 210 does not overflow or interfere with electrodeposition.

According to an embodiment of the present invention described above, when recovering the actinide element using the actinide element contained in the molten salt using a liquid cathode, the actinide element by sensing the weight change of the liquid cathode The amount of electrodeposition deposited on the liquid cathode can be monitored. At this time, the electrodeposition amount of the actinide-based element electrodeposited on the liquid cathode in real time without stopping the electrolytic smelting process can be known accurately and easily. That is, since the electrodeposition amount of the actinide element electrodeposited on the liquid cathode during operation of the electrolytic smelting apparatus can be directly measured, the operating state of the liquid cathode can be monitored very efficiently and in real time. For this reason, the end point of the electrolytic smelting process can be known accurately and easily, and the operation situation can be grasped by comparing the change in electricity and weight applied for electrodeposition during operation. In addition, although the current is continuously applied to the liquid cathode during operation, even if the current efficiency is lowered due to various reasons, the electrodeposition amount is reduced, it is possible to monitor whether the current efficiency is lowered by periodically sensing the weight change of the liquid cathode assembly. Therefore, when using the electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to stably and quickly perform the actinide-based element recovery operation.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can realize that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. I can understand that.

Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are provided so that those skilled in the art can fully understand the scope of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, The invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an electrolytic smelting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

{Description of symbols for main parts of the drawing}

100, 200: electrolytic smelting apparatus 102, 202: first container

104, 204: molten salt 106, 206: liquid cathode assembly

108, 208: second container 110, 210: liquid cathode

120, 220: support part 122, 222: load cell

126, 226: control unit 130, 230: first stirrer

134, 234: second stirrer 138, 238: support fixing member

140 and 240: fixed release member 242: liquid cathode assembly moving portion

Claims (10)

A first container containing a molten salt containing actinide-based elements; A liquid cathode assembly including a second container for receiving a liquid cathode for recovering the actinide-based element by receiving power, and a support for fixing the second container in the molten salt; A load cell connected to the liquid cathode assembly and capable of measuring a weight of the liquid cathode assembly; And A control unit connected to the load cell and providing a load cell control signal for controlling the operation of the load cell to the load cell and receiving data on the weight of the liquid cathode assembly measured by the load cell from the load cell Electrolytic smelting apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, A first stirrer for stirring the molten salt contained in the first vessel; And A second stirrer for stirring the liquid cathode contained in the second vessel of the liquid cathode assembly More, The first and second agitators are connected to the control unit, the control unit is characterized in that the electrolytic smelting apparatus that can control the operation of the first and second agitators. The method of claim 1, A support fixing member positioned on an upper portion of the first container and configured to fix the supporting unit of the liquid cathode assembly; And A fixing release member capable of causing the support to be fixed or released to the support fixing member Electrolytic smelting apparatus further comprising. The method of claim 1, A liquid cathode assembly moving part connected to the liquid cathode assembly and capable of raising the liquid cathode assembly onto the molten salt surface or allowing a second container of the liquid cathode assembly to be immersed in the molten salt. Electrolytic smelting apparatus further comprising. Recovering the actinide element contained in the molten salt using a liquid cathode; And Measuring a weight of the liquid cathode assembly including the liquid cathode Actinide-based element recovery method using an electrolytic smelting apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 5, Recovering the actinide-based element, Stirring the molten salt using a first stirrer; And Stirring the liquid cathode using a second stirrer Including; Before the weight of the liquid cathode assembly, the second stirrer is raised above the surface of the liquid cathode, actinide element recovery method using an electrolytic smelting device. The method of claim 5, Elevating the liquid cathode assembly above the molten salt surface prior to weighing the liquid cathode assembly Actinide-type element recovery method using an electrolytic smelting apparatus further comprising. The method of claim 5, Measuring the weight of the liquid cathode assembly, actinide-based element recovery method using an electrolytic smelting device, characterized in that performed at a predetermined time interval. The method of claim 5, The actinide-type element recovery method using the electrolytic smelting apparatus characterized in that the recovery of the actinide-type element is also performed when the weight of the liquid cathode assembly. Electrolytic smelting apparatus for monitoring the electrodeposition amount of the actinide-based electrode is deposited on the liquid cathode by detecting the weight change of the liquid cathode when recovering the actinide-based elements contained in the molten salt using a liquid cathode Actinide-based element electrodeposition amount monitoring method using.

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