VCU news

By Vincent Simone

A Virginia Commonwealth University graduate student has been awarded a prize in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research competition.

Ammon Williams, a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, part of the School of Engineering, was one of only five winners in the category for graduate students who attend universities with less than $600 million in 2011 research and development expenditures.

Williams’ award-winning research paper, “Separation of CsCl from a Ternary CsCl-LiCl-KCl Salt Via a Melt Crystallization Technique for Pyroprocessing Waste Minimization,” was published in the journal Chemical Engineering Science in February 2013.

Written with his adviser, VCU associate professor Supathorn Phongikaroon, Ph.D., the paper explores ways to optimize a process that treats the byproducts of nuclear power generation. In particular, Williams sought to improve this process by developing a method that removes cesium chloride, which cannot be reused, and preserves lithium chloride/potassium chloride salt, which can. The results of Williams’ paper suggest that, under optimal experimental conditions, up to 88 percent of the salt can be recycled.

“I’m a recycler,” says Williams. “I like to put things to reuse. I don’t like just filling our landfills with whatever.”

This general disposition has inspired Williams’ academic and professional interests, which focus on the nuclear fuel cycle, waste processing and eliminating waste.

Williams expects to complete his Ph.D. in spring 2016, after which he would “like to find a good teaching position at a university.”

Phongikaroon describes Williams as “an awesome student” who is an exceptionally smart, innovative and dedicated researcher with “a bright future.” He adds that Williams’ award brings the School of Engineering “one step closer to national recognition in Nuclear Fuel Cycle R&D” and shows that VCU’s students can compete with other well-established programs.

Williams, who is from Idaho, earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University-Idaho and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Idaho.

With its Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research awards program, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fuel Cycle Technologies seeks to promote creativity and breakthrough achievements to develop tomorrow’s nuclear technologies. In 2014, the program awarded 20 prizes for student publications and presentations relevant to the nuclear fuel cycle.

 

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