Voltammetric Analysis of Mixtures of Molten Eutectic LiCl-KCl Containing LaCl3 and ThCl4 for Concentration and Diffusion Coefficient Measurement

Authors

• Zhong-hang Wang, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Devin Rappleye, Brigham Young University - ProvoFollow
• Michael F. Simpson, University of Utah

Keywords

molten salt, voltammetry, nuclear fuel reprocessing, electrorefining

Abstract

Several electrochemical techniques, including cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry-open circuit potential (CP-OCP), chronoamperometry (CA) and normal pulse voltammetry (NPV) were applied to the eutectic LiCl-KCl melt containing LaCl₃ and ThCl₄ at 773K. The dependence of diffusion coefficient of La(III) on concentration of LaCl₃ was investigated by using CV, CP and CA. As the concentration of LaCl3 increases, the D_La(III) value obtained from CV gradually decreases, while the values derived from CA and CP exhibit a dome-shaped variation trend. In the LiCl-KCl-LaCl₃-ThCl₄ system, the diffusion coefficients of La(III) and Th(IV) are both approximately constant regardless of changes in the composition of LaCl₃ and ThCl₄. Concentration correlations were developed for LaCl₃ and ThCl₄ using the normalized CV peak heights in addition to the diffusion-limited relationships for CV, CA and NPV. NPV was found to be superior for the concentration prediction over the range studied in this work.

Original Publication Citation

Zhong-hang Wang, Devin Rappleye, Michael F. Simpson, Voltammetric Analysis of Mixtures of Molten Eutectic LiCl-KCl Containing LaCl3 and ThCl4 for Concentration and Diffusion Coefficient Measurement, Electrochimica Acta, Volume 191, 2016, Pages 29-43, ISSN 0013-4686, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2016.01.021.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Wang, Zhong-hang; Rappleye, Devin; and Simpson, Michael F., "Voltammetric Analysis of Mixtures of Molten Eutectic LiCl-KCl Containing LaCl3 and ThCl4 for Concentration and Diffusion Coefficient Measurement" (2016). Faculty Publications. 8899.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/8899

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2016-01-07

Publisher

Electrochimica Acta

Language

English

College

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering

Department

Chemical Engineering

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

Copyright Status

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is the author's accepted version of this article. The definitive version can be found at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2016.01.021.

Copyright Use Information

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