This study examined the heat balance in the electrolytic reducer during oxide reduction of pyroprocessing. The adoption of carbon anodes instead of conventional platinum anodes in the oxide reduction process has made it possible to apply high currents, and it has been observed that the temperature of the molten salt of in the reactor rises rapidly when applying high currents, so it is important to maintain an optimal operational temperature range. In this study, salt resistant heat, reaction heat, and decay heat were identified as factors affecting heat balance during the operation of oxide reduction process. Equations describing the relationships among these factors were established. Then using this, a correlation was developed to understand the relationship between applied current and the molten salt temperature in the reactor observed in the actual operation of the carbon anode electrolytic reducer of KAERI. Furthermore, this study proposed strategies to mitigate excessive temperature elevation during oxide reduction operation. A comparative assessment of these approaches was conducted. Considering KAERI electrolytic reducer operation environment, among the considered cooling strategies, the cooling effectiveness was calculated to be highest in the following order: heat transfer to extra salt, convection, conduction, argon gas bubbling.

• Jinmok Hur(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)) Corresponding author
• Sun-Seok Hong(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI))
• Jae Soo Ryu(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI))