A chlorination-distillation process for irradiated UO
2 fuel treatment is presented, which utilizes the difference in vapor pressure between the chlorides of uranium and those of F.P. Good recovery of uranium and decontamination of F.P. were not obtained with single distilla-tion. Improvement was seen with the adoption of a process in which most of the F.P. were removed from the irradiated UO
2 fuel through a sorption-desorption process using a BaCl
2 bed. The present report describes the behavior of uranium chlorides in this process.
The vapor of uranium chlorides formed by chlorinating UO
2 powder with a mixed gas of Ar and CCl
4 vapor was passed through the bed whose temperature varied along its length from 500° to 100°C, under which conditions the chloride vapor was completely sorbed on the bed. The uranium chlorides thus sorbed did not desorb in a mixed gas stream of Ar and CCl
4 vapor at bed temperatures below 480°C, but when the bed was heated to 480°560°C, and Cl
2 gas added to the gas stream, the chlorides were completely desorbed in the form of vapor of higher uranium chlorides.
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