Eun-Young Choi*, Hun-Sook Im, and Jin-Mok Hur
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daedoek-daero 989-111, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-353, Republic of Korea
Electrochemical reductions of UO2 at various anode-to-cathode distances (1.3, 2.3, 3.2,
3.7 and 5.8 cm) were carried out to investigate the effect of the anode-to-cathode distance on the
electrochemical reduction rate. The geometry of the electrolysis cell in this study, apart from the
anode-to-cathode distance, was identical for all of the electrolysis runs. Porous UO2 pellets were
electrolyzed by controlling a constant cell voltage in molten Li2O-LiCl at 650oC. A steel basket
containing the porous UO2 pellets and a platinum plate were used as the cathode and anode,
respectively. The metallic products were characterized by means of a thermogravimetric analyzer,
an X-ray diffractometer and a scanning electron microscope. The electrolysis runs conducted during
this study revealed that a short anode-to-cathode distance is advantageous to achieve a high
current density and accelerate the electrochemical reduction process.
Keyword : Electrochemical reduction, Uranium oxide, Uranium, Li2O-LiCl molten salt