On the melting of zirconium alloys from scraps using electron beam and induction furnaces – recycling process viability

The pressurized water reactor (PWR) employs UO2 pellets as nuclear fuel, which are packed in zirconium alloy tubes called nuclear fuel cladding. In the manufacture of the nuclear fuel, machining scraps are generated which are not easily discarded as scraps because of its high cost. These zirconium nuclear alloys are very costly and are not produced in Brazil. In this work, novel methods to recycle Zircaloy scraps using vacuum induction melting and electron beam furnaces were used to obtain ingots. The cast ingots were subjected to thermal treatments and then chemically analyzed, followed by microstructural characterization, mechanical properties evaluation, and X-ray diffraction. The results indicated the feasibility of the processes for obtaining alloys for application in the nuclear area, chemical industry or materials for biological applications such as dental prostheses.