ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCEDURES IN THE TREATMENT OF SPENT NUCLEAR-FUEL

The use of an electrochemical process for U/Pu partitioning has demons trated a good performance and is a safe alternative for nuclear facili ties. Its great advantages are the lack of introduction of foreign ion s into the process and, especially, the minimization of the waste volu me generated. For the introduction of electrochemical U/Pu partitionin g in the 2nd Pu purification cycle, preliminary studies were carried o ut with a single mixer-settler unit, Based on the results, an 8-stage electrolytic mixer-settler (MS MIRELE) was designed. Titanium was MIRE LE's housing material(cathode) and platinum the anode, insulated with PTFE. The Pu recovery was higher than 99%, indicating the efficiency o f this equipment.