The reducibility of rare earth oxides (REOs) in electrolytic reduction of nuclear used oxide fuel is poor as a result of their high oxygen affinity and thermodynamic stability. We show that the reduction of REOs to rare earth metals in Li₂OLiCl salt can be enhanced significantly by using lithium metal. Specifically, REOs in the fuel are reduced to a high extent in the electrolytic reduction of simulated oxide fuel in 1.0-wt% Li₂OLiCl salt following the application of electrical charge in order to induce the production of Li metal. We also demonstrate that the low reduction levels of REOs in reduced simulated fuel with high uranium metal content, which is produced through another electrolytic reduction run, can be increased by the immersion of the reduced simulated fuel in fresh LiCl salt containing Li metal at 0.3 wt%.

稀土氧化物（REO）在核废旧氧化物燃料的电解还原中的还原性很差，这是因为它们的高氧亲和力和热力学稳定性。我们表明，使用锂金属可以显着增强Li ₂ O LiCl盐中稀土金属的REO还原。具体地，在1.0wt％的Li ₂ O中的模拟氧化物燃料的电解还原中，燃料中的REO被高度还原。施加电荷后加入LiCl盐以诱导生成Li金属。我们还证明，通过将还原的模拟燃料浸入含有0.3 wt％的Li金属的新鲜LiCl盐中，可以提高通过另一次电解还原运行而产生的，具有高铀金属含量的还原模拟燃料中REO的低还原水平。 ％。