Synthesis of Uranium-Thorium dioxide nano powder using supercritical hydrothermal method

Abstract

Due to the limited uranium reserves and advantages of thorium fuels over uranium fuels, the development of the thorium fuel cycle in various countries including Iran, has been considered significantly. One type of thorium fuels used in nuclear reactors is a mixture of uranium dioxide and thorium. The type of powder synthesis method is a key point in improving the efficiency of this fuel in the reactor. The main objective of the present study was to achieve mixed nanoparticles of 30-70% (Th-U)O2. The effect of four parameters including concentration, time, initial percentage of uranium-thorium nitrate in solution, and temperature was studied using Taguchi's experimental design. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, BET, EDS, and SEM analyses. The results showed that at the best conditions, the nanoparticles were synthesized with a weight percentage of 32.28 and 67.72%, a particle size of 13.25 nm, high purity, and high surface area. Also, the results showed that the supercritical hydrothermal method has performed well for mixed nanoparticles of 30-70% (Th-U)O2 production.

Keywords

• thorium fuel
• supercritical hydrothermal
• homogeneous
• nano powder