Evaluation of the Diffusion Layer Thickness in the Molten Salt Electrolysis Process

The oxide electrolysis method is one of the candidates for fuel reprocessing in the fast breeder reactor cycle. In the molten salt electrolysis process, the optimization of deposit conditions and the amount evaluation of U, Pu deposits have been important subjects for feasibility of the system. Mass transportation dominates the deposit reaction rate in the molten salt electrolysis. The amount of deposits, therefore, is estimated by the Nernst's equation and the Fick.'s law. However, diffusion layer thickness, which shows the transportation characteristic of a reactant, is necessary to be treated as an empirical parameter which depends on hydro-dynamic conditions. This research examines the applicability of the nondimensional number correlations for mass transfer in molten salt electrolysis. The nondimensional number correlation is verified by using the numerical analysis for molten salt electrolysis.As a result, the prediction by the nondimensional number correlation agreed well with the numerical analysis. Therefore, it can be concluded that the diffusion layer thickness in molten salt electrolysis can be evaluated by using nondimensional number correlation.