Cesium and iodine release from fluoride-based molten salt reactor fuel

Cesium and iodine, which are formed during a fission process in a nuclear reactor, are considered as major fission products responsible for the environmental burden in case of a nuclear accident. From the safety point of view, it is thus important to understand their release mechanism when overheating of the reactor core occurs. This work presents an experimental investigation of the behaviour of caesium iodide and caesium fluoride in fluoride based molten salt reactor fuel during high temperature events. It has been demonstrated that CsF will be retained in the fuel salt and thus its volatility will be significantly reduced, while CsI will not dissolve in the fluoride-based fuel matrix and will thus remain more volatile. The influence of the presence of CsI and CsF on the melting behaviour of the fuel has been investigated using calorimetry, revealing their negligible effects. CsF dissolves in fluoride based MSR fuel, which significantly decreases its volatility. CsI has very low solubility in the fuel. Exchange between iodides and fluorides occurs in the MSR fuel, stabilizing the Cs cations in the fuel mixture.