Advanced nuclear power holds a clear promise: round-the-clock, low-carbon electricity with far better fuel efficiency than conventional plants. Yet the next generation of reactors faces an atomic-scale obstacle. When uranium atoms split to generate energy, they leave behind troublesome chemical byproducts that degrade equipment and frustrate recycling efforts.

A research team led by Pennsylvania State University has received $1 million from the US Department of Energy to tackle this precise problem. Their goal is to track and control three stubborn fission products—samarium, europium, and tellurium—in molten salt reactors and advanced recycling systems.

Standard commercial reactors are cooled by pressurized water. But molten salt systems use liquid salts. These reactors can squeeze more energy out of nuclear fuel and allow used materials to be recycled. However, the chemical soup inside them is notoriously harsh.

Each of the three targeted elements presents its own challenge. Samarium and europium are unwanted in recycled fuel because they can interfere with reactor performance and fuel recycling processes, noted researchers. 

“Tellurium, on the other hand, can react with metals used in molten salt reactors and fuel-recycling systems, contributing to corrosion and materials degradation,” added the researchers. 

To solve this, researchers need to understand how these elements behave at a fundamental level.

“We will study the oxidation states of these elements, which describe how many electrons an atom has gained or lost and strongly influence how they behave chemically,” said lead investigator Hojong Kim, professor of materials science and engineering at Penn State.

The team will examine how these byproducts interact with reactor materials during pyroprocessing, a high-temperature recycling method based on molten salts.

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