Physics-based model for electro-chemical process

Abstract

Considering the kinetics of electrochemical reactions and mass transfer at the surface and near-surface of the electrode, a physics-based separation model for separating actinides from fission products in an electro-refiner is developed. The model, taking into account the physical, chemical and electrochemical processes at the electrode surface, can be applied to study electrorefining kinetics. One of the methods used for validation has been to apply the developed model to the computation of the cyclic voltammetry process of PuCl{sub 3} and UCl{sub 3} at a solid electrode in molten KCl-LiCl. The computed results appear to be similar to experimental measures. The separation model can be applied to predict materials flows under normal and abnormal operation conditions. Parametric studies can be conducted based on the model to identify the most important factors that affect the electrorefining processes.