Idaho National Laboratory Pyrochemical Sciences Overview & Capabilities

Nuclear energy is essential for the nation’s clean energy future. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is awarding contracts to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to develop and deploy advanced reactors. Pyroprocessing is used for processing and recycling nuclear fuel into new fuel types while generating less waste than other reprocessing flowsheets. The waste produced from pyroprocessing can be placed into durable waste forms. Next generation reactors, including molten salt reactors (MSRs) bring with it a new set of challenges. For MSRs, those new challenges include selecting materials that perform well in extreme environments (e.g., high temperature, radiation fields, hygroscopic, corrosive), materials’ thermophysical and thermochemical properties, recycling, and durabilities of nuclear waste forms. Methods used for investigating and characterizing nuclear and structural materials can include 3-D imaging, diffraction, microscopy, spectroscopy, and physical analysis. Idaho National Laboratory utilizes these techniques and capabilities to characterize materials at the Materials & Fuels Complex to advance the future of nuclear energy.

Dr. Kevin Tolman received his PhD in 2016 from the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University. His research focused on the structural effects of A-site point defects in perovskites. Today, Dr. Tolman is a Pyrochemistry staff scientist at Idaho National Laboratory in the Nuclear Science & Technology (NS&T) Organization.  His research interests and studies include synthesis, characterization, and analysis of inorganic materials for pyroprocessing applications (e.g., ceramics, salts, and metals). Characterization experience includes: Optical Microscopy (OM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) & imaging, neutron diffraction/scattering, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy (WDS), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAD),  Light Element Analysis (LEA) via Infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy using combustion analysis & inert gas fusion techniques, Inert Gas Pycnometry, Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA).