Electrochemical Measurement of Diffusion Coefficient of Actinides and Rare Earths in Liquid Cd

Abstract

Liquid Cd is used as a reaction medium in the pyrometallurgical reprocessing for spent nuclear fuels. The diffusion coefficient of a series of key elements, such as actinides and rare earths, in liquid Cd is one of the important physical properties for a kinetic analysis of the pyrometallurgical reprocessing. Recently, the authors applied an electrochemical method to the measurement of a diffusion coefficient in liquid metal. This presentation summarizes the diffusion coefficients of actinides (U and Pu) and rare earths (La, Pr, Nd, Gd, Y and Sc) in liquid Cd measured by the electrochemical method.