Recovery of UMo Alloy from UMo/Al Dispersion Fuel Plates by Dissolution

Methods for dissolving UMo/Al dispersion fuel plates in the compounded mixed basic aqueous（NaOH and NaNO₃） are studied on laboratory scale.After removing the clad and the matrix of the sub-standard UMo/Al dispersion fuel elements,the U loss ratios are calculated and the granularity distributions of the recovered UMo alloy powder are analyzed by the metallurgical microscope.Besides,the phase structure and the composition of the recovered UMo alloy powder are analyzed by the XRD.The results indicate that as the concentration of NaOH increases,uranium loss ratio increases;but as the concentration of NaNO₃ in-creases,U loss ration increases firstly and then decreases subsequently;generally,the U recovery ratios are more than 99.3%.The granularity of recovered UMo powders are very small and most parts of U have been oxidated to UO₂.Therefore,further study is required to determined whether the recovered UMo alloy could be returned to the product line.