Electrochemical de-chlorination/transformation of metal chloride for the preparation of NZP structure product

A new two-step process was investigated to treat LiCl molten salt waste containing volatile radionuclides generated from an electro-metallurgical processing (pyro-processing) of spent oxide fuels. First, the chemical form of the soluble LiCl waste was transformed into a chloride-free and less soluble hydroxide compound by an electrochemical method, where an electrolytic de-chlorination was performed without adding any chemical salt. Then, a gelation process of the chemical form-changed Li compound, named gel-route stabilization/solidification (GRSS) system aimed to reduce the volatility of the radionuclides greatly, was introduced to stabilize/solidify the hydroxide salt wastes. The application of the electrochemical dechlorination/transformation process and the subsequent gel-route stabilization process to treat the soluble LiCl salt wastes was found to be effective.