Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “SALTS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Topography of the Flattest Surface on Earth: using ICESAT, GPS, and MISR to Measure Salt Surface Topography on Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Salt flats are aptly named: they are composed largely of salt, and are maintained as nearly equipotential surfaces via frequent flooding. The salar de Uyuni, on the Altiplano in southwestern Bolivia, is the largest salt flat on Earth, with an area of 9,800 sq km. Except for a few bedrock islands, it has less than 40 cm of relief. The upper-most salt unit averages 5 m thick and contains 50 cu km of nearly pure halite. It includes most of the salt that was in solution in paleolake Minchin, which attained a maximum area of 60,000 sq km and a maximum depth of 150 m, roughly 15 kyr ago. Despite approx. 10 m of differential isostatic rebound since deposition, the salar surface has been actively maintained as an extraordinarily flat and smooth surface by annual flooding during the rainy season. We have used the strong optical absorption properties of water in the visible band to map spatial variations in water depth during a time when the salar was flooded. As water depth increases, the initially pure white surface appears both darker and bluer. We utilized MISR images taken during the interval from April to November 2001. The red and infra-red bands (672 and 867 nm wavelength) were most useful since the water depth is small and the absorption at those wavelengths is quite strong. Nadir pointed MISR images have 275 m spatial resolution. To aid in our evaluation of water depth variations over the saiar surface, we utilized two sources of direct topographic measurements: several ICESAT altimetry tracks cross the area, and a 40x50 km GPS grid was surveyed to calibrate ICESAT. A difficulty in using these data types is that both give salt surface elevations relative to the ellipsoid, whereas the water surface will, in the absence of wind or tidal disturbances, follow an equipotential surface. Geoid height is not known to the required accuracy of a few cm in the central Andes. As a result, before comparing optical absorption from MISR to salt surface topography from GPS or ICESAT, we removed the longest wavelengths from both.

Comstock, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Global Hotspots of Salt Marsh Change and Carbon Emissions

Salt marshes provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, coastal protection, sea-level-rise (SLR) adaptation and recreation. SLR, storm events, drainage and mangrove encroachment are known drivers of salt marsh loss. However, the global magnitude and location of changes in salt marsh extent remains uncertain. Here we conduct a global and systematic change analysis of Landsat satellite imagery from the years 2000–2019 to quantify the loss, gain and recovery of salt marsh ecosystems and then estimate the impact of these changes on blue carbon stocks. We show a net salt marsh loss globally, equivalent to an area double the size of Singapore (719 km^2), with a loss rate of 0.28% year^(−1) from 2000 to 2019. Net global losses resulted in 16.3 (0.4–33.2, 90% confidence interval) Tg CO_2 e year^(−1) emissions from 2000 to 2019 and a 0.045 (−0.14–0.115) Tg CO_2 e year^(−1) reduction of carbon burial. Russia and the USA accounted for 64% of salt marsh losses, driven by hurricanes and coastal erosion. Our findings highlight the vulnerability of salt marsh systems to climatic changes such as SLR and intensification of storms and cyclones.

Carbon Monitoring↗
DOE OSTI2023

Electrochemical Characterization of Molten Salt Chemistry During Atmospheric Ingressions

This report describes the salt chemistry and sedimentation studies that were completed in FY23 as part of the Pyrochemical Fuel Cycles – ANL project. The primary objective of these activities was to employ electrochemical methods in order to quantify and gain insights into the reaction mechanisms associated with the interaction of O2 and moisture impurities with the molten chloride salts used for the pyrochemical processing of nuclear materials. If not monitored and controlled, the ingression of these atmospheric impurities can lead to changes in the salt redox conditions and initiate the formation of oxide particles, potentially resulting in operational and safeguards challenges. By elucidating the mechanisms underlying the formation of oxide particles, we can effectively monitor the conditions of the salt and design systems to mitigate the influence of atmospheric O2 and H2O. To achieve these goals, we designed a test system that allowed for precisely controlled gas ingressions into the molten salt vessel. This system included on-line monitoring provided by electrochemical probes that enable near real-time measurements of the salt conditions throughout the course of the experiment. Using this system, we systematically varied experimental conditions, including O2/Ar flow rates and O2 concentrations, to comprehensively understand their impact on solid particle formation. We also used a particle size and shape analyzer to characterize the particles that were generated. Tests in FY23 concentrated on the formation of CeO2 particles, but we also prepared a separate apparatus targeting UO2 particles for use in FY24. We additionally conducted extensive modeling activities in support of this work. This included multiphysics simulations of the gas ingressions along with the development of a machine learning workflow to enable accelerated molecular dynamics modeling of the molten salt chemistry of LiCl-KCl-UCl3. The combination of experimental and modeling tools has allowed us to begin to get a more complete understanding of the reactions that occur when atmospheric ingressions occur in pyroprocessing systems.

Guo, Jicheng↗
DOE OSTI2026

Quantifying Uncertainties in Heat Capacity Measurements of Molten Salts Determined Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Uncertainty in specific heat capacity values of a molten salt determined by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was assessed based on the precision of replicate measurements of heat flows used in the calculation and effects of corrections that are commonly made to heat flow measurements. The ratio method of determining heat capacity was applied using the results of replicate heat flow measurements made with two empty cells, a sapphire reference material, and three samples of a doped NaCl-UCl 3 salt mixture. Replicate measurements with empty cells were used to quantify the effects of system instabilities and sensitivities on the measured heat flows of sapphire and salt. The combined effects of uncertainties in individual heat flow measurements made with blank cells using this system were quantified to be 2.6 μV based on isothermal holds before and after the scan, with cell placement adding the greatest uncertainty. This value was used as the tolerance for accepting background-corrected heat flows measured with sapphire and salt to calculate the specific heat capacity. The acceptable heat flows measured for sapphire and salt over the temperature range of 540 to 725 °C resulted in calculated specific heat capacity values ranging from 0.53 to 0.91 J g −1 K −1 with an overall average value of 0.70 J g −1 K −1 and an uncertainty of 0.22 J g −1 K −1 at the 99 % confidence level. The combined uncertainty in the specific heat capacity masked detection of any effect of temperature or salt composition that occurred.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Computational modeling of graphite degradation in molten salt reactors: Role of infiltration

Molten salt reactors (MSRs) often employ graphite as a moderator and reflector. An important challenge for deploying graphite in these reactors is that, due to limited experimental data, our understanding of graphite’s structural integrity in molten salt environments remains incomplete. Here, this study addresses heat generation from fuel-bearing salt that has infiltrated open pores in the graphite, driven primarily by pressure differentials. This is one of multiple identified physical and chemical mechanisms through which molten salt could potentially degrade graphite. Thermally driven stresses are quantified using the Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) graphite moderator elements as a case study. Finite element simulations predict stress distributions at varying infiltration levels, indicating that thermal stresses increase with higher infiltration. Rare-event simulations using the parallel subset simulation framework identify the combinations and corresponding ranges of input parameters that lead to stresses above a specified threshold. In particular, combinations involving high infiltration amounts, high power density, and low thermal conductivity tend to induce the highest stresses. Under the inputs and assumptions considered in this work, the magnitudes of the thermally driven stresses are quite low, with a very low likelihood of causing failure due to exceeding the graphite’s tensile strength. Additionally, rare-event simulations were performed for two more scenarios: a scaled-up moderator geometry and a localized hotspot in the original geometry. Both cases resulted in increased susceptibility to failure, though not to a detrimental extent. Furthermore, the combined effects of irradiation and infiltration-induced thermal stresses were evaluated. The results showed that thermal stresses from infiltration were negligible compared to those caused by irradiation. The findings of such a study are inherently component-specific, but the methodology presented here could be used for similar assessments of salt-infiltration effects in other graphite components.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Temperature and anion ligand field dependence of LnCl 3 (Ln = Nd, Dy, Sm) electronic absorption spectra in LiCl–KCl eutectic molten salt

A comprehensive knowledge of the coordination, bonding, and speciation of elements in molten salt mixtures is necessary to understand and predict the chemical and physical properties of the salt. Absorption spectroscopy can yield information about the chemistry of species of interest in alkali halide molten salt mixtures by revealing information about the electronic structure and transitions of those species. In this study, ultraviolet (UV), visible (vis), and near-infrared (NIR) absorption spectroscopy was used to examine changes to the electronic structure of trivalent Nd, Sm, and Dy in LiCl–KCl eutectic molten salt with changes in temperature and the anion composition of the melt. With increasing temperature, changes to spectral features suggest a distortion of the coordination complexes. Changes to lineshape with the substitution of alternative halide anions were examined and analyzed, revealing differences in the coordination for I – versus F – with the lanthanides. Gaussian peak fitting was used to show that the changes in lineshape with the progressive addition of F – anions can be explained by the superposition of a set of absorption bands from complexes with all Cl – anion ligands and a set of blueshifted absorption bands from complexes containing both F – and Cl – anion ligands. Finally, this work yields a new method to analyze and interpret change to electronic absorption spectra for f-block elements dissolved in alkali halide molten salts as well as new observations of the interactions of larger and smaller halide anions with lanthanides in Cl – -based molten salts.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of High-Temperature Emissivity Measurement Capabilities for Molten Salts at PNNL

In this study, an emissivity measurement system for a liquid molten salt was developed on the bases on the Stefan Boltzmann Law. A prototype device operating in ambient atmosphere was constructed an initial result compared well with available literature. The diffuse emissivity of NaCl-KCl system (NaCl, 51mol% NaCl – 49mol% KCl and KCl) was measured from 550 to 850 °C at a wavelength of 1.3 µm. The system appears to be relatively invariant with composition but a clear trend of decreasing emissivity values from ~0.9 at 550 °C to 0.75 at 850 °C was observed. A schematic for an enclosed system for inert atmosphere and actinide salts was drafted. Several of the components for fabrication of this device, improved laser system, furnace, nickel for capsule construction, have been purchased and are ready for assembly. The new laser system will have an improved measurement range of 275-1000 °C. The clam shell furnace has a maximum temperature of 1200 °C and will support the hermetically sealed inert encapsulation vessels. Nickel plate and tubing will create a relatively corrosion resistance capsule for testing that can withstand temperature up to 1000 °C. Emissivity measurements are important for a larger effort to understand radiative heat transfer within molten salts at elevated temperatures (600-1000 °C). Literature review of optical salt properties and radiative heat transfer models indicated that systems within elevated temperature regimes could see upwards of 20% or more of their total heat transferred through photonic mechanisms. Ultimately, future work will measure the total thermal conductivity and break down the molecular and radiative portions. Thermal conductivity, along with other thermal properties of molten salts, both coolant and fuel, are fundamental to modeling and simulations that support MSR design. The results presented here and ongoing work at PNNL will be useful in selecting optimal salt compositions, designing reactor systems, and optimizing heat transfer within a MSR power plant.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating High-Halide Waste Form Options for Salt-Based Nuclear Waste Simulants

In this study, waste forms were being explored for an electrochemical salt simulant, , referred to as ERV3, which is a high-LiCl/KCl salt containing simulated fission products (i.e., Sr, Cs, Nd) and Na to represent bond sodium from Experimental Breeder Reactor-II metallic fast reactor fuel. The goal was to find glassy systems that could be used to immobilize the salt in a single-step process. The envisionment of this process would be find a frit glass that could be added to the salt waste, heat treated, poured into waste canisters, and then stored for disposal. To perform this study, a literature review was conducted, the most promising seven systems were fabricated without the salt, and then mixed with salt simulant and heat treated under different processes. The criteria that were used to screen potential compositions included demonstrated alkali incorporation, could be melted at reasonably low temperature ( T ≤ 1000°C), and if the compositions had some demonstrated data for waste-form-related properties, that was a benefit. High marks were given for compositions that showed amorphous nature after slow cooling of samples containing ERV3.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ab-initio molecular dynamics study of eutectic chloride salt: MgCl2–NaCl–KCl

Ionic liquid materials are viable candidates as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) in a wide range of applications, notably within concentrated solar power (CSP) technology and molten salt reactors (MSRs). For next-generation CSP and MSR technologies that strive for higher power generation efficiency, a HTF with wide liquid phase range and energy storage capabilities is crucial. Studies have shown that eutectic chloride salts exhibit thermal stability at high temperatures, high heat storage capacity, and are less expensive than nitrate and carbonate salts. However, the experimental data needed to fully evaluate the potential of eutectic chloride salts as a HTF contender are scarce and entail large uncertainties. Considering the high cost and potential hazards associated with the experimental methods used to determine the properties of ionic liquids, molecular modeling can be used as a viable alternative resource. In this study, the eutectic ternary chloride salt MgCl 2 –NaCl–KCl is modeled using ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations (AIMDs) in the liquid phase. Using the simulated data, the thermophysical and transport properties of eutectic chloride salt can be calculated: density, viscosity, heat capacity, diffusion coefficient, and ionic conductivity. For an initial model validation, experimental pair-distribution function data were obtained from X-ray total scattering techniques and compared to the theoretical pair-distribution function. Additionally, theoretical viscosity values are compared to experimental viscosity values for a similar system. The results provide a starting foundation for a MgCl 2 –NaCl–KCl model that can be extended to predict other fundamental properties.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2024

Elucidating the corrosion mechanism of commercial Ni-based superalloys in UCl3 containing-chloride molten salt systems

Elucidating the role of UCl3 in the corrosion mechanism of Ni-based superalloys exposed to chloride molten salts Trishelle Copeland-Johnson1, Michael Woods1, Ruchi Gakhar1, Daniel J. Murray1, Guoping Cao1, Lingfeng He1 1Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID, United States The United States Department of Energy (DOE) aims to diversify the domestic energy portfolio towards more sustainable options, including implementation of molten salt reactor (MSR) technology. Chloride molten salts have been investigated as an appropriate MSR coolant and fuel because their relatively inexpensive, abundant, and exhibit favorable thermophysical properties. However, the corrosivity of chloride molten salts have not been extensively studied, especially with the inclusion of actinide products, such as UCl3. Accordingly, the development of nuclear structural materials with excellent corrosion performance is critical to the successful implementation of MSRs, particularly from a mechanistic perspective. In this investigation, we attempt to elucidate the interfacial corrosion mechanism between Ni-based structural materials, such as Inconel 617, and UCl3-containing salt systems through a multi-modal advanced characterization approach, including electron microscopy techniques. The findings from this investigation will expand the knowledgebase of chloride molten salt corrosion of MSR structural materials for strategic property-to-performance design.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Integrated High‐Throughput and Machine Learning Methods to Accelerate Discovery of Molten Salt Corrosion‐Resistant Alloys

Insufficient availability of molten salt corrosion-resistant alloys severely limits the fruition of a variety of promising molten salt technologies that could otherwise have significant societal impacts. To accelerate alloy development for molten salt applications and develop fundamental understanding of corrosion in these environments, here an integrated approach is presented using a set of high-throughput (HTP) alloy synthesis, corrosion testing, and modeling coupled with automated characterization and machine learning. By using this approach, a broad range of Cr-Fe-Mn-Ni alloys are evaluated for their corrosion resistances in molten salt simultaneously demonstrating that corrosion-resistant alloy development can be accelerated by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. Based on the obtained results, a sacrificial protection mechanism is unveiled in the corrosion of Cr-Fe-Mn-Ni alloys in molten salts which can be applied to protect the less unstable elements in the alloy from being depleted, and provided new insights on the design of high-temperature molten salt corrosion-resistant alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Toward a Generalizable Prediction Model of Molten Salt Mixture Density with Chemistry‐Informed Transfer Learning

Optimally designing applications of molten salts requires knowledge of their thermophysical properties over a wide range of temperatures and compositions. There exist significant gaps in existing databases and this data can be challenging to experimentally measure due to high temperatures, salt corrosivity, and salt hygroscopicity. Existing databases have been used to create Redlich–Kister (RK) models for mixture density showing improved accuracy with respect to ideal mixing assumptions, but these models require subcomponent data measurements for each new system, therefore lacking generality. In order to address generalizability and data sparsity, a transfer learning procedure is proposed to train deep neural networks (DNNs) using a combination of semi‐empirical relationships (RK), data from the thermophysical arm of the molten salt thermal properties database and universal ab initio properties of component mixtures taken from the joint automated repository for various integrated simulations (JARVIS) classical force‐field inspired descriptors database to predict density in molten salts. Herein, it is shown that DNNs predict molten salt density with an r 2 over 0.99 and a mean absolute percentage error under 1%, outperforming alternative methods.

inorganic materials↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fundamental Issues Identified for Thermodynamic Description of Molten Salt Systems

Thermodynamic modeling of the molten salt systems is critical in the design of advanced nuclear power plants, materials recycling, and many other important clean energy applications. As one of the most capable computational thermodynamic approaches, the CALPHAD (Calculation of Phase Diagrams) method has been widely used for multicomponent thermodynamic database development and further support more physics-based modeling. Although considerable CALPHAD modeling efforts for molten salt systems have been made, we found that no evaluation has been performed regarding the unary thermodynamic models for the molten salt systems despite the fact that more than one pure substance database is available for the CALPHAD modeling. Therefore, the thermodynamic descriptions of the pure salts should be critically evaluated to ensure a high-fidelity molten salt thermodynamic database. In this work, we comprehensively analyzed some selected molten salts using different available thermodynamic descriptions from two databases as an example. One is the SSUB database released by the SGTE (Scientific Group Thermodata Europe), and the other is the FactPS database from the FactSage. Finally, the significant discrepancies observed in the thermodynamic description between the existing CALPHAD pure substance databases and experiments call for an urgent effort to improve.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

CFD modeling of natural circulation in LiCl-KCl molten salt closed loop

Characterizing flow within a molten salt closed-loop system is crucial for assessing system requirements, evaluating performance, and identifying potential flaws. Direct flow measurement using instrumentation is challenging due to extreme environmental conditions and the limitations associated with measuring molten salt flow under natural convection. Here, this study aims to provide comprehensive insights into the thermal-hydraulic behavior of a closed loop, with a particular focus on temperature distribution and velocity prediction. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model demonstrated the capability to effectively simulate and predict both temperature distributions and flow velocities within the molten salt loop. The CFD model's predictive capability was validated by its ability to replicate temperature measurements under varying boundary conditions. The analysis revealed that the CFD model tends to underpredict temperatures in the cold leg and overpredict them in the hot leg, highlighting the need for continuous model refinement and acknowledging the limitations of using a steady-state approach. Furthermore, the potential of using external temperature measurements to estimate internal molten salt temperatures and predict flow velocity was explored, revealing that this approach could introduce up to a 5.5% error in flow velocity calculations. Line probes mapping temperature distributions across the tube's cross-section and molten salt provided valuable insights into temperature gradients, emphasizing the need for a thermal conductivity equation for molten salt with lower uncertainty to achieve more accurate temperature predictions of the system.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation and selection of eutectic salts combined with metal foams for applications in high-temperature latent heat thermal energy storage

This study presents a systematic process for selecting eutectic salts for use in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES), and provides experimental evidence regarding their performance. One primary goal was to identify the most suitable eutectic salt for use with metallic foams over a temperature range of 450 °C–500 °C. Twenty-one eutectic salts were preselected for comparison. Here, the performance and cost-effectiveness of each were evaluated based on the Ragone relation, enabling a fair comparison of each salt's heat storage capacity and power density relative to cost. As a result, MgCl-NaCl, CaCl 2 -NaCl, and FLiNaK were selected as the most promising candidates. Subsequently, experiments were performed to demonstrate the compatibility of the selected salts with metal foams while the copper and aluminum foams were immersed in the salts at 550 °C for 120 h. Combining C10100 (copper alloy) foam with CaCl 2 -NaCl was observed to generate the least surface corrosion due to oxidation. The charge/discharge performance and thermal stability of CaCl 2 -NaCl, both with and without the copper foam, were also tested to confirm the feasibility of this combination. The capsule with the copper foam showed enhanced performance (a 13 % reduced discharge rate) in comparison to the capsule without copper foam. The melting point of the CaCl 2 -NaCl remained unchanged for 300-h duration of the cyclic melting/solidification experiments, and no thermal stability issues were observed.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Designing a repository in domal salt: The influence of design variants in different modelling environments

To understand the long-term environmental impact of disposing radioactive waste of in a deep geological repository and to optimise its design, performance assessments are used. In this study, four teams (COVRA, GRS, Quintessa, and DOE) modified the previously developed generic repository of DECOVALEX task F2 to identify commonalities and differences between the teams for specific changes in repository design. The teams tested six design modifications: (1) Replacing concrete abutments with run-of-mine salt; (2) Replacing the salt seal with a concrete abutment and using run-of-mine salt instead for the two concrete abutments in each drift seal; (3) Halving the size of the infrastructure area; (4) Using run-of-mine salt instead of gravel for backfilling the infrastructure area; (5) Disposal of spent nuclear fuel without the POLLUX-10 containers (6); Lower initial saturation of the spent nuclear fuel and vitrified waste disposal drifts. Despite different modelling strategies used, models agreed that a smaller infrastructure area has a limited effect on radionuclide transport. Responses to the absence of the two concrete abutments in each seal, the use of single large concrete abutments (200 m each), or the use of run-of-mine salt in the infrastructure area differ between teams due to differing modelling assumptions. Based on these results, the estimated efficacy of containment depends strongly on the model assumptions of each team. More specifically, it appears to depend on the compaction model used and therefore on the backfill material used in different areas of the repository. However, the drift seal appears to be a critical design element in all models, effectively limiting radionuclide transport by hydrologically disconnecting sections of the repository. Additional beneficial design choices include the use of dry salt in disposal drifts to limit radionuclide transport and reducing the infrastructure area costs and minimizing host rock damage.

DECOVALEX↗
DOE OSTI2021

Characterization of the molten salt FMgNaK through ab initio molecular dynamics and experimental density measurements

The selection of a salt species for use in a molten salt reactor MSR is a key part of any MSR design. However, many salts have sparse or no thermophysical property data sets, especially those with higher melting points. One such salt is the eutectic mixture of (NaF)0.345(KF)0.59(MgF 2 )0.065, or FMgNaK, and is explored here through ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation (1023-1273K) as well as experimental measurement of the liquid density using the Archimedean method (973-1223K). Predicted densities from AIMD are similar to experimentally-measured densities, though with more noise, suggesting that the small scale necessitated by AIMD simulations may be problematic for simulating FMgNaK in particular. Here the coefficient of thermal expansion is predicted from simulation, and salt structure is characterized. Mg-F-Mg chaining is observed in the salt network, though the low concentration of Mg inhibits chaining on the scale that is observed in (LiF) 0.67 (BeF 2 ) 0.33 , or FLiBe.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Synthesis and characterization of super occluded LiCl-KCl in zeolite-4A as a chloride salt waste form intermediate

Here, this paper reports the hygroscopic properties of eutectic LiCl-KCl after absorption into zeolite-4A, up to salt loadings of 75 wt%. Samples of the salt occluded zeolite were hydrated in a humidity chamber at constant temperature and relative humidity for up to 100 h. At up to 45 wt% salt loading, the un-occluded phase of salt consisted primarily of NaCl, which forms when the Na + ions present in the zeolite framework exchange with Li + and K + ions from the eutectic LiCl-KCl. This results in minimal water absorption and corrosion of contacted stainless steel. At greater than 45 wt% salt loading, water absorption and corrosion progressively worsened. The mixture has a significant amount of excess LiCl-KCl, making it highly hygroscopic. This study reveals an option for the intermediate treatment of waste salt from spent nuclear fuel electrorefiners that could facilitate it to be stored in a non-inert atmosphere for extended periods of time before final conversion into a permanent waste form.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗