Spent fuel reprocessing international panel on fissile. Historically, chemical separation or reprocessing technologies have been used to separate the plutonium and uranium in irradiated nuclear fuel from fission products and from other isotopes that have built up as a result of neutron absorption. Pdf on jan 1, 2015, robin taylor and others published reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. This has become a new mantra of nuclear waste management. The safety guide is not intended to cover the storage of spent fuel if this is part of the operation of a nuclear power plant or spent fuel reprocessing facility. The importance of public acceptance for a reprocessing strategy is discussed. Nuclear fuel reprocessing an overview sciencedirect topics. The spent fuel reprocessing plant is expensive and complex as material has to be handled robotically, etc.
With an additional 30,000 tons of afr spent fuel storage capacity the equivalent of six more mutsu type facilities but potentially at a smaller number of sites or even all at mutsu reprocessing could be avoided until 2050. In the closed nuclear fuel cycle, spent reactor fuel is reprocessed to recover the uranium and plutonium to fuel nuclear reactors using the purex process. Flowsheet calculation result of 1 000 kg lwr spent fuel processing spent uo 2 fuel, 60 gwdt burnup, 5 years cooling 41 figure 17. Treatment and recycling of spent nuclear fuel halcea. Nuclear fuel reprocessing is a controversial process by which spent nuclear fuel is reprocessed to extract uranium. Perhaps carter announced in april the intent to suspend reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel snf. The iaea has issued several publications in the past that provide technical information on the global status and trends in spent fuel reprocessing and associated topics, and one reason for this present publication is to provide an update of this information which has mostly focused on the conventional technology applied in the industry. Reprocessing also reduces the amount of radioactive waste that must be managed. Pdf reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel. The current process used for spent fuel reprocessing, drawing on over 50 years research and industrial development in a number of countries.
This report aims to collect spent nuclear fuel reprocessing flowsheet of various processes. In the closed fuel cycle today, the spent fuel discharged from the reactor is reprocessed, and the products are partitioned into uranium u and plutonium pu suitable for fabrication into oxide fuel or mixed oxide fuel mox for recycle back into a reactor. Such a procedure may be useful in negotiations, different. Spent nuclear fuel reprocessing implementation act summary pdf.
Guidance is provided on all stages in the lifetime of a spent fuel storage facility, from planning through siting and design to operation and decommissioning, and in particular. The spent nuclear fuel aqueous reprocessing facility is used for separations of spent nuclear fuel elemental components to support recycling of fissile materials, transmutation, decay management of selected actinides and fission products, and segregated immobilization, storage, and disposal of remaining materials as different classes of wastes. The proper management of spent fuel arising from nuclear power production is a key issue for the sustainable development of nuclear energy. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels, and discusses the applications of radiation, particularly spallation neutrons and gamma rays. However it is estimated, with the continual rise in oil prices and the concerns surrounding global warming, that nuclear power could grow exponentially from the 20% energy market share it has now in the united states 3. Reprocessing of the type currently practiced in a handful. The aec authorized general electric company ge to construct a spent fuel reprocessing facility in morris, il. Over the past few years, 12 proposals have been put forward by states, nuclear industry and international organizations, aimed at checking the spread of uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing technologies. Flowsheet calculation result of 1 000 kg lwr spent. The purpose of reprocessing the spent fuel is to reduce volume and radiotoxicity by recovering the useful elements and hence reduce the need of supplementary repositories law et al.
Reprocessing is as old as nuclear reactors, because the first reactors were built to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. Spent nuclear fuel storage congressional research service this report focuses on the current situation with spent nuclear fuel storage in the united states. Spent fuel reprocessing overview in the uk, all of the commercial nuclear power reactors use uranium as fuel. This report shows that for existing spent fuel the main waste problem facing the united states the slogan belongs in the same realm of economic claims for nuclear energy that would be too cheap to meter. The spent nuclear fuel reprocessing implementation act. The offers were rejected by german and japanese clients. The rest of the spent fuel is treated as highlevel waste hlw. But it is doable, and much of the cost is saved by recovered fuel.
Purex nuclear reprocessing technology that separates actinides from the spent fuel via liquid liquid extraction involving acidic aqueous and organic. The estimated fuelcycle cost is due to the costs of reprocessing and fabrication, less a credit of 2. Nuclear fuel reprocessing franke institute university of chicago. Japans spent fuel and plutonium management challenges. The rrp is designed, when operating at full capacity, to separate about 8.
Inauguration of the nuclear reprocessing organization of japan october 3, 2016 the cabinet approved the cabinet orders for stipulating the effective date of the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing implementation act september 27, 2016. These include 1 recovery of the valuable fissile constituents primarily 235u and plutonium for subsequent reuse in recycle fuel. Reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel woodhead. Plutonium recovery from spent fuel reprocessing by nuclear fuel services at west valley, new york from 1966 to 1972 prepared by u. An assessment of the proliferation risks of spent fuel.
Reprocessing and spent nuclear fuel management at the. Government and commerciallygenerated fuel continued to be received atnfs until 1973. The spent fuel reprocessing options assessment of economics, proliferation resistance, and environmental impact are discussed. Storing that previously recycled spent fuel in the longterm repository immediately would eliminate all of the densification benefits of. Nuclear reprocessing is the chemical separation of fission products and unused uranium from. Plutonium and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel science. Costs of reprocessing versus directly disposing of spent. Reprocessing of used nuclear fuel is undertaken for several reasons. A white paper was prepared in response to that direction and focuses on three major areas. Nfs was granted a license on may 27, 1965 to receive andstore fuel at its reprocessing facility in west valley. Pyroelectrochemical reprocessing of spent mox fuel.
If nitric dissolution of spent uox fuel is almost complete with only a very low quantity of remaining solid recovery rate 99. Reprocessing and spent nuclear fuel management at the savannah river site some of the terms used in this factsheet are defined in ieers online glossary. The firstshipment of fuel, from the yankee rowe reactor in massachusetts, wasplaced in the fuel storage pool at west valley on june 5, 1965. Nureg1909 background, status and issues related to the. This paper analyzes the process of nuclear fuel reprocessing, where spent nuclear. The isotope uranium235 is necessary for sustaining the nuclear fission chain reaction, which generates the heat needed to power the electrical generators. Status and trends in spent fuel reprocessing download.
If these constituent portions of spent fuel were reused, and additional. Spent nuclear fuel reprocessing flowsheet nuclear energy agency. Reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel robin. Actinide partitioning application to waste management. This paper analyzes the process of nuclear fuel reprocessing, where spent nuclear fuel is refined to reduce waste and provide further material for nuclear fuel. Tens of thousands of tons of radioactive material were reprocessed at the savannah river site srs near aiken, sc, from the mid1950s through the beginning of this decade. While reprocessing of spent fuel was historically the favored strategy for the back end fuel cycle, in the past few decades some countries have turned to other options. Without reprocessing, the spent fuel becomes nuclear waste. The aec invited public comment on a proposed policy in the form of appendix f to 10 c.
With its distinguished international team of contributors, advanced separation techniques for nuclear fuel reprocessing and radioactive waste treatment is a standard reference for all nuclear waste management and nuclear safety professionals, radiochemists, academics and researchers in this field. This book presents an overview and analysis of these proposals, including an evaluation of the projected international mechanisms. However, unlike waste from the reprocessing process, spent fuel that has been reprocessed and used again has a higher heat content than spent fuel that has been used only once. Flowsheet calculation result of 1 000 kg lwr spent fuel processing spent mox fuel, 45 gwdt burnup, 5 years cooling 42 figure 18. Ebrii fuel reprocessing and refabrication operations were suspended. Waste policy act of 1982 nwpa, which directed the department of energy. Spent nuclear fuel reprocessing implementation act meti. Reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel presents an authoritative overview of spent fuel reprocessing, considering future prospects for advanced closed fuel cycles. Nuclear reprocessing can separate spent fuel into various combinations of reprocessed uranium, plutonium, minor actinides, fission products, remnants of zirconium or steel cladding, activation products, and the reagents or solidifiers introduced in the reprocessing itself.
This report aims to collect spent nuclear fuel reprocessing flowsheet of various processes developed by member states. Review of spent fuel reprocessing and associated accident phenomena nuregcr7232 on this page. It does not address all of the issues associated with permanent disposal of snf, but rather focuses. Nuclear fuel reprocessing is a chemical separation of spent nuclear fuel into its major components. The reprocessed uranium, also known as the spent fuel material, can in principle also be reused as fuel. We cover reprocessing technology as well as current research and innovation in the area, as well as its environmental impact, the current policy climate in the united states, and an. Storage of spent fuel is cheaper, safer, and more environmentally benign than reprocessing, which produces multiple types of radioactive waste that must be stored in any case, but host communities require assurances that interim spentfuel storage will not become permanent 119.
If this does happen, the need for spent fuel reprocessing will. Reprocessing of highlevel waste is controversial because it produces large quantities of liquid highlevel waste from the solvents used, and also because extracted plutonium or uranium is easily amenable to illicit nuclear weapons. I believe the suspension of reprocessing was in the department of energy organization act, pl 9591, signed 8477, which may be confused with reorganization act of 1977, pl 9517, signed 4677, the latter being reorganization of the executive. A nuclear reprocessing facility takes the spent fuel from nuclear power. The politics, science, environment, and common sense of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing 3 decades later pdf.