Progress is reported on (1) experimental breeder reactor program, (2) solvent extraction, (3) fluoride volatilization separation process, (4) elevated temperature separations, (5) denitration of uranyl nitrate in a fluidized bed, (6) development of analytical techniques, (7) processing and utilization of radioactive wastes.

The production of cross-type control rods having a span of 4-7/8 in., and an arm thickness of 1/8 in., was studied. Extrusion techniques were developed for producing cross-type control rods from each of two alloys; one containing 75% silver-25% cadmium, and the other containing 67% silver-30% cadmium-3% copper. Fabrication of the extruded crosses into clad control rods for the Mark I naval reactor was attempted. A set of unclad control rods for the Zero Power Reactor was produced. The effect of copper, nickel, aluminum, palladium, and indium, singly and in various combinations, on the physical and mechanical properties of silver cadmium was studied. Data are given on the work hardening and annealing of binary silver-cadmium alloys, and on the precipitation hardening of certain complex silver cadmium alloys. A materials specification and suggested fabrication procedure were established for nickel-clad extruded silver-cadmium control rods.

In the a study of plutonium production, the analytical solutions of the various isotope production equations are difficult and time consuming when spatial variation of the flux is considered. In an effort to reduce the time and labor required to determine the integrated production of a given thermal reactor, a graphical method of analysis is presented. The method is based on the assumption that the reactor may be divided into a relatively small number of regions such that the flux in each of these regions may be assumed constant. The production of the given isotope for each region is then read from the appropriate graph. The total production is obtained by adding the productions of all the regions.

This report deals with the (1.1) physical properties of graphite, (1.2) effects of pile irradiation on the properties of graphite, (1.3) effect of irradiation on "ceramic" materials, (1.4) effects of radiation on ice -- the x-ray induced luminescence of ice, (1.5) investigation of color centers and other optical properties of single crystals. (2.1) radiation chemistry of liquids, (2.2) application of mass spectrometry to chemical problems, (2.3) vapor pressure and heat of vaporization of uranium, (3.1) nuclear properties of Zr93 and Nb93m from fission, (3.2) mass distribution in the spontaneous fission of Cm242, (3.3) Upper limit to the lifetimes of the first excited states of Th236, U234, and Pu236, (3.4) on the one-body model of alpha radioactivity, (4.1) spectrographic analysis, (4.2) chemical analysis, (5.1) paramagnetic resonance measurements, and (5.2) the 60-inch cyclotron.

This report deals with the (1.1) physical properties of graphite, (1.2) effects of pile irradiation on the properties of graphite, (1.3) effect of irradiation on "ceramic" materials, (1.4) effects of radiation on ice -- the x-ray induced luminescence of ice, (1.5) investigation of color centers and other optical properties of single crystals. (2.1) radiation chemistry of liquids, (2.2) application of mass spectrometry to chemical problems, (2.3) vapor pressure and heat of vaporization of uranium, (3.1) nuclear properties of Zr93 and Nb93m from fission, (3.2) mass distribution in the spontaneous fission of Cm242, (3.3) Upper limit to the lifetimes of the first excited states of Th236, U234, and Pu236, (3.4) on the one-body model of alpha radioactivity, (4.1) spectrographic analysis, (4.2) chemical analysis, (5.1) paramagnetic resonance measurements, and (5.2) the 60-inch cyclotron.

A fuel element assembly in which a uranium slug is bonded to an impact extruded aluminum can by means of aluminum-silicon eutectic, and in which the can is capped with a thin aluminum disc, brazed and welded to the can, may contain,(a) imperfections common to brazed and welded metal sections, and (b) inhomogeneities arising from oxidation of uranium, and alloy formation between uranium, aluminum and silicon.

Water corrosion tests on mechanically jacketed and pinholed thorium slugs show that these slugs fail in a manner similar to that observed for mechanically jacketed and tested uranium slugs. The proposed mechanism for the water corrosion of these jacketed slugs is analogous to the water corrosion mechanism of jacketed uranium slugs presented in the project lecture. A bare thorium slug appeared to be more resistant to corrosion by water than a mechanically jacketed slug during the first half of the autoclave test. After approximately 90 hours of testing both the bare and the mechanically jacketed thorium slugs were severely corroded by water.

On June 2, 1952, 15:52 hours, a large reactivity change was made manually in a ZPR-1 assembly causing a power excursion of about one kwh, which resulted in damage to the reactor core components and radiation exposure of some of the operating personnel to perhaps several rep. None of the contributing causes is reviewed here nor are the measures which were taken to reduce the probability of a recurrence discussed since these are considered administrative matters beyond the scope of this technical report. It is intended only to describe the incident, estimate the exposures and present available clinical data.

Report describing the research and development activities related to nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry and basic chemistry conducted by the Argonne National Laboratory Chemistry Division, Section C-1.

This report was written by different scientist on various experiments of solid state, physical chemistry, radiochemistry and analytical, and special problems.

None

This report presents the results of research and development work performed in two ANL divisions which are chemical engineering and material science.

Large-scale efforts are in progress to develop advanced batteries for utility energy storage systems. Realization of the full benefits available from those systems requires development, not only of the batteries themselves, but also the ac/dc power converter, the bulk power interconnecting equipment, and the peripheral electric balance of plant equipment that integrate the battery/converter into a properly controlled and protected energy system. This study addresses these overall system aspects; although tailored to a 20-MW, 100-MWh lithium/sulfide battery system, the technology and concepts are applicable to any battery energy storage system.

This document reports on the work done by the Separations Science and Technology Programs of the Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, in the period October 1991-March 1992. This effort is mainly concerned with developing the TRUEX process for removing and concentrating actinides from acidic waste streams contaminated with transuranic (TRU) elements. The objectives of TRUEX processing are to recover valuable TRU elements and to lower disposal costs for the nonTRU waste product of the process.

This document reports on the work done by the Separations Science and Technology Section of the Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, in the period October 1992-March 1993. This effort is mainly concerned with developing the TRUEX process for removing and concentrating actinides from acidic waste streams contaminated with transuranic (TRU) elements.

This report summarizes the work that was completed in FY 1992 on the program "Technology Development for Concentrating Process Streams." The purpose of this program is to evaluate and develop evaporator technology for concentrating radioactive waste and product streams such as those generated by the TRUEX process. Concentrating these streams and minimizing the volume of waste generated can significantly reduce disposal costs; however, equipment to concentrate the streams and recycle the decontaminated condensates must be installed. LICON, Inc., is developing an evaporator that shows a great deal of potential for this application. In this report, concepts that need to be incorporated into the design of an evaporator operated in a radioactive environment are discussed. These concepts include criticality safety, remote operation and maintenance, and materials of construction. Both solubility and vapor-liquid equilibrium data are needed to design an effective process for concentrating process streams. Therefore, literature surveys were completed and are summarized in this report. A model that is being developed to predict vapor phase compositions is described. A laboratory-scale evaporator was purchased and installed to study the evaporation process and to collect additional data. This unit is described in detail. Two new LICON evaporators are being designed for installation …

Monolithic solid oxide fuel cells (MSOFCS) represent a potential breakthrough in fuel cell technology, provided that reliable fabrication methods can be developed. Fabrication difficulties arise in several steps of the processing: First is the fabrication of uniform thin (305 {mu}m) single-layer and trilayer green tapes (the trilayer tapes of anode/electrolyte/cathode and anode/interconnect/cathode must have similar coefficients of thermal expansion to sinter uniformly and to have the necessary electrochemical properties); Second is the development of fuel and oxidant channels in which residual stresses are likely to develop in the tapes; Third is the fabrication of a "complete" cell for which the bond quality between layers and the quality of the trilayers must be established; and Last, attachment of fuel and oxidant manifolds and verification of seal integrity. The purpose of this report is to assess nondestructive characterization methods that could be developed for application to laboratory, prototype, and full-scale MSOFCs.

Quarterly report of the Argonne National Laboratory Chemical Engineering Division regarding activities related to properties and handling of radioactive materials, operation of nuclear reactors, and other relevant research.

A preliminary estimate has been made of the manufacturing cost for lithium/iron sulfide cells for stationary energy-storage and electric-vehicle applications. This preliminary cost analysis indicated that the manufacturing cost (in 1979 dollars) is $24 to 41/kW-h for stationary energy-storage cells and $31 to 55/kW-h for electric-vehicle cells. The materials cost was found to contribute between 52 and 65% of this manufacturing cost. The most expensive materials and components were lithium (metal and compounds), $4.61 to $14.26/kW-h; BN felt, $4.00 to 8.50/kW-h; feed-through components, $2.40/kW-h; positive current collectors, $1.48 to 2.20/kW-h; and aluminum, $1.43 to 1.66/kW-h. The projected lithium requirements were determined for use in lithium/iron sulfide batteries and conventional uses to the year 2006. The results showed that the lithium requirements were about 275,000 short tons by 2006, which is equivalent to about 51% of presently known US resources. Of this amount, about 33% would be used in battery production and 67% consumed in conventional uses. It is expected that the lithium used in battery production would be recycled.

This work, which is part of the ANL energy program for ERDA, is directed toward studies for the national endeavor on in situ coal gasification. The objective of this work is to determine the reaction-controlling variables and reaction kinetics for gasification of chars resulting when coal is pyrolyzed in underground gasification. The reactions to be studied include steam-char, carbon dioxide-char, hydrogen-char, and water gas shift reaction. Discussed in this report are the effects on the reactivity of chars of pyrolysis in simulated gasification product gas rather than pure nitrogen. In addition, further investigations of the water gas shift reaction and methanation reaction are discussed.

A program has been established for DOE Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) to evaluate factors that are likely to affect waste glass reaction in an unsaturated environment typical of what may be expected for the candidate Yucca Mountain repository site. This report covers progress in FY 1990 on the following five tasks.

The Sodium Technology program currently comprises three parts. The first part is aimed at developing a model for accurately describing the behavior of tritium in LMFBRs from its formation in the core to its ultimate retention in the cold traps or release to the environment. Two important parts of this model are the behavior of the sodium cold traps and permeation of tritium through the steam-generator heat-transfer surfaces. A tritium monitor has been developed and installed on EBR-II to measure tritium specific activities and to test the model of an operating LMFBR. The second part of the program is focused in two areas: 91) on-reactor-site conversion of commercial-grade sodium and (2) requalifying sodium from decommissioned reactors for reuse in future LMFBRs.

Physicochemical and thermodynamic studies of liquid-lithium-containing systems have continued. Pressure-composition isotherms for the lithium-hydrogen system measured by a gravimetric technique are found to be in reasonably good agreement with earlier tensimetric results. Plateau-pressure studies of the lithium-hydrogen, lithium-deuterium, and lithium-tritium systems have been made at temperatures above and below the monotectic. The observed isotope effects were found to be near the predicted values. Measurements of the solubility of the lithium-deuterium in liquid lithium gave results in good agreement with prior data for the solubility of lithium-hydrogen in lithium and confirmed that the limits on cold trapping of lithium hydrides from lithium are too high for protected fusion reactor applications. Determination of the solubility of lithium dioxide in liquid lithium is nearing completion. Solubility values measured to date are slightly lower than, but in the range of, prior measurements.

A new creep-fatigue equation is proposed that takes into account both plastic strain and strain rate. The coefficients and exponents in the damage-rate equation are interpreted by means of the various damage mechanisms of the material. The damage-rate equation has been integrated to analyze various phenomena such as the effects of plastic strain rate on monotonic tensile or creep rupture time, rising mean strain on the low-cycle fatigue behavior at elevated temperature, tensile and compressive hold times on the low-cycle fatigue life at elevated temperature, and cyclic creep. The proposed approach has been successfully applied to elevated-temperature data generated at Argonne National Laboratory and elsewhere for Type 304 austenitic stainless steel under various monotonic and cyclic-loading conditions.