Improved leach resistance of FLiBe by conversion to a substituted fluorapatite

Abstract

Considerable work is focused on the development of molten salt fueled nuclear reactors. The treatment of the spent fuel in these systems has unique waste management issues. These typically halogen-based salts are known to be water soluble to various degrees. In addition to leachability issues, radiolysis may destabilize these salts when they are in solid form. FLiBe, a favored candidate for fluoride-salt-fueled reactor applications, presents significant waste management challenges. Conversion of FLiBe to fluorapatite may be an effective means to stabilize the salt for improved long-term stability and storage. • FLiBe salt was converted to fluorapatite. • Fluorapatite structure was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. • A leach comparison of the untreated FLiBe salt to the fluorapatite was performed with The Product Consistency Test (PCT), ASTM-C1285. • Fluorapatite was found to have a two-orders of magnitude improvement in leachability.