Dry pretreatment of used nuclear fuel to simplify storage or recycle - Shearing or chemical decladding and voloxidation

The application of NO₂ voloxidation could result in cost reduction and simplification of treating nuclear fuel. The resulting oxide product devoided of volatile fission products that could be released from stored fuel during an accident scenario is a very stable form for long-term storage. However, because the oxidation produces a fine powder with 99% of the particles reduced to <20 urn and with a bulk density of ∼2.2 g/mL, this option may require a densification step prior to packaging for long-term stable storage. A remotely operated compaction process may be required. The oxides or nitrated powders are also an excellent initial product for aqueous and nonaqueous processing methods such as electrochemical separation in molten salts, halide volatility, crystallization, DUPIC-like processes, supercritical C0₂ dissolution, aqueous alkaline separations, etc.