NEUP CINR-18-15148: Recovery of Rare-Earth Elements (Nd, Gd, Sm) in Oxide Wasteform Using Liquid Metals (Bi, Sn)

The proposed research investigates a new approach for recovering rare-earth (RE) fission products (Nd, Gd, and Sm) from molten LiCl-KCl salts using liquid metals (Bi and Sn) by leveraging the strong chemical interactions between RE and liquid metals to facilitate a direct one-step reduction of the REs into the liquid metals for salt recycling. The reduced RE metals will be converted to chloride-free RE oxides by selective oxidation for incorporation into conventional glass/ceramic wasteforms.

Additional Info

Field	Value
Awarded Institution	Pennsylvania State University
PI	Hojong Kim