Patent ID: 11894154
Assignee: CURIO SOLUTIONS LLC
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  Y | IPC G

Claim 16:
17. The method of claim 15, wherein separating fuel pellets from nuclear fuel rods comprises placing the fuel rods in a basket formed in an interior of a decladding vessel, the decladding vessel containing a molten salt solution, the basket serving as anode positioned relative to a cathode;
applying an electric potential to the cathode and anode, wherein insoluble UO2 collects in a bottom of the decladding vessel, wherein zirconium from the fuel rods dissolve into the molten salt solution, the UO2 collecting at a bottom of the decladding vessel;
depositing zirconium dissolved in the molten salt solution; and
roasting the collected UO2 in a hot and dry oxygen stream to form U3O8 after draining the molten salt.