Separation of Uranium and Zirconium in Alkali Chloride Melts Using Liquid Metal Cathodes

Cyclic voltammetry and cathodic polarization measurements were employed to study zirconium and uranium electrochemical behavior in LiCl–KCl eutectic based melts on solid (tungsten) and liquid (zinc, gallium, indium, Gz–Zn eutectic alloy) working electrodes. Deposition potentials of zirconium and uranium were determined. Ga–Zn alloy showed a difference of ca. 0.9 V in U and Zr deposition potentials. Thermodynamically achievable Zr/U separation factor in a “LiCl–KCl salt melt – liquid Ga–Zn alloy” system was experimentally determined.