Investigation on Dissolution and Removal of Adhered LiCl-KCl-UCl3 Salt From Electrodeposited Uranium Dendrites Using Deionized Water, Methanol, and Ethanol

Deionized water, methanol, and ethanol were investigated for their effectiveness at dissolving LiCl-KCl-UCl3 at 25, 35, and 50 degrees C using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to study the concentration evolution of uranium and mass ratio evolutions of lithium and potassium in these solvents. A visualization experiment of the dissolution of the ternary salt in solvents was performed at 25 degrees C for 2 min to gain further understanding of the reactions. Aforementioned solvents were evaluated for their performance on removing the adhered ternary salt from uranium dendrites that were electrochemically separated in a molten LiCl-KCl-UCl3 electrolyte (500 degrees C) using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Findings indicate that deionized water is best suited for dissolving the ternary salt and removing adhered salt from electrodeposits. The maximum uranium concentrations detected in deionized water, methanol, and ethanol for the different temperature conditions were 8.33, 5.67, 2.79 mu g.L-1 for 25 degrees C, 10.62, 5.73, 2.50 mu g.L-1 for 35 degrees C, and 11.55, 6.75, and 4.73 mu g.L-1 for 50 degrees C. ICP-MS analysis indicates that ethanol did not take up any KCl during dissolutions investigated. SEM-EDS analysis of ethanol washed uranium dendrites confirmed that KCl was still adhered to the surface. Saturation criteria is also proposed and utilized to approximate the state of saturation of the solvents used in the dissolution trials.