Thermal stability of nitric acid solutions of reducing agents used in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing

The thermal stability of carbohydrazide, hydrazine nitrate, acetohydroxamic acid in nitric acid solutions has been studied at atmospheric pressure and above atmospheric pressure. The volumes of gaseous products of thermolysis and the maximum rate of gas evolution have been determined at atmospheric pressure. It has been shown that, despite the high rate of gas evolution and large volumes of evolved gases, the conditions for the development of autocatalytic oxidation are not created. Exothermic processes are observed in a closed vessel in the temperature range of 50–250 °C. With an increase in the concentration of nitric acid, the temperatures of the onset of exothermic effects for all mixtures decrease, and the values of the total thermal effects of reactions increase, to the greatest extent for solutions with carbohydrazide.