Partial abstract: "The investigation of the high temperature and pressure dissociation of water under irradiation was undertaken by the Power Pile Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in an effort to determine the degree of importance of the phenomenon with respect to the design of a high temperature water-cooled power reactor. Theory and past experimentation indicate that net steady-state dissociation is determined by the rates of the dissociation and recombination reactions under the imposed conditions, the dissociation rate being essentially a function of flux and the recombination rate essentially a function of temperature" (p. 3).

Abstract: A summary of thermodynamic calculations for zirconium halides is given. Data indicates that the iodide is the most promising of the halides for arc dissociation and that good recoveries of zirconium should be obtainable provided dissociation is carried out at reduced pressure.