Application of rare earth oxide gadolinium oxide in uranium-containing pellets

With the increasing demand for economic efficiency in power plants, modern advanced reactors are developing towards large fuel loads, high burnup, and long cycles. This increase in initial fuel load significantly increases the initial residual reactivity of the reactor core within the active zone. In actual operation, separate burnable poison fuel assemblies alone are insufficient to maintain the required long-term reactor reactivity. However, integrated burnable poison fuel assemblies can improve the power distribution within the reactor core, thereby extending refueling cycles and improving fuel economy.

¹⁵⁵Gd and ¹⁵⁷Gd are natural isotopes with the largest thermal neutron absorption cross-sections. Adding Gadolinium oxide to the mixing stage of gadolinium-containing pellets can reduce the high initial reactivity of the reactor due to increased fuel loading, flatten the neutron flux and power distribution in the active area, thereby increasing burnup and improving the power and safety performance of the reactor.

Gadolinium-containing fuel pellets are a common neutron poison pellet. The manufacturing process uses powder metallurgy technology. Through powder mixing, granulation, molding, and high-temperature sintering processes, gadolinium oxide powder is evenly dispersed in the UO₂ powder matrix to form a (U, Gd)O₂ solid solution pellet, thereby producing a gadolinium-containing burnable poison UO₂ pellet.

Suzhou KP Chemical Co., Ltd can provide rare earth oxide compounds such as Lanthanum oxide, Cerium(IV) oxide, Praseodymium oxide, Neodymium oxide, Samarium oxide, Europium oxide, Gadolinium oxide, Terbium oxide, Dysprosium oxide, Holmium oxide, Erbium oxide, Thulium oxide, Ytterbium oxide, Lutetium oxide, Yttrium oxide and Scandium oxide. Please contact info@szwww.kpchemmaterial.com or 086-18915544907.