Nuclear Engineering Program

A Look at Nuclear Science and Technology

Larry Foulke

Module 1.5 Grand Tour of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Back End Concluded

LWR Uranium Fuel Cycle

Reprocessing Separate Nuclear Fuel from Structural Components Mechanical separation Separate Fission Products from Heavy Metals Chemical dissolution separation Separate Uranium & Plutonium Chemical separation

Reprocessing
Basic Steps of Reprocessing
Separate Fission Products from Heavy Metal Separate Uranium & Plutonium

Image Source: See Note 1

Reprocessing Complex LaHague, France

Spent Fuel Reprocessing

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Shielded Canyon
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Reprocessing Equipment

Spent Fuel Reprocessing

Reprocessing Complex LaHague, France

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Plutonium does not occur in nature, but is instead produced from irradiation of 238U in a reactor.

Transuranic Elements Actinide Elements

Transuranic Elements Elements with atomic numbers greater than 92 Actinide Elements Major actinides = Uranium and Plutonium Minor actinides = Americium and Curium (and sometimes Neptunium)

Actinides (>Atomic No 89)

All actinides are radioactive Series named after Actinium
At No 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 Name Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium
Symbol

At No 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103

Name Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium

Symbol

Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am

Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr

Spent Fuel Management Approaches

Spent Fuel From Commercial Plants Direct Disposal Conventional Reprocessing PUREX Spent Fuel Recycle Pu U MOX Spent Fuel Recycle IntermediateTerm Advanced, Proliferation-Resistant Recycling Advanced Separations Pu + Actinide U MOX Transmutation Long-Term Reactor LWR/ALWR Reactor (Exist Fleet) Transmuter (Gen IV Fast Reactor or ADS Trace Pu Trace Actinides Fission Products Repository

Pu Actinides Fission Products Repository Repository

Less Pu Actinides Fission Products

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Spent PWR Fuel Decay Heat

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Spent PWR Fuel Decay Heat w/o Pu, Am & Np

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Waste Categories
Low-level waste [LLW] Low enough radionuclide content that shielding not required Low actinide content Liquid waste from extraction step of reprocessing (or solids) Spent irradiated fuel assemblies Waste not defined as LLW or HLW Transuranic waste for WIPP

High-level waste [HLW]

Intermediate-level waste [ILW]

High-Level Waste Disposal

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHS Predominant Geologic disposal using conventional mining techniques Subseabed geologic disposal (not allowed by international treaty) Very deep borehole concept Rock melting concept Island disposal Ice-sheet disposal Space disposal Partitioning and transmutation Alternates

Yucca Mountain is about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Yucca Mountain: NWPA

1982
Congress established the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) for the disposition of high-level radioactive waste and commercial spent nuclear fuel

1987
NWPA as amended eliminated all sites but Yucca Mountain to be characterized for a potential repository
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Yucca Mountain No More ?

DOE submitted a petition to the NRC on March 3, 2010 to withdraw its license application for Yucca. DOE filed its petition with prejudice, which would prevent it from being refiled. NRCs Atomic Safety and Licensing Board denied DOEs motion to withdraw the license application in June 2010. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Americas Nuclear Future that will provide recommendations on managing used fuel and nuclear waste.

The ISFSI Initiative

To provide space in spent fuel pools for fuel being removed during outages, older spent fuel is taken out of the pool and placed in an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, or ISFSI. The storage casks must meet rigorous testing and design requirements.

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Disposal of TRU Waste

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Site in southeastern New Mexico selected in 1975 Disposal began in 1999 Site closure could be in 20252030 Geology and hydrology provide primary isolation Bedded salt host rock Semiarid region, little potable water, no significant aquifers
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LWR Fuel Cycle Closed

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LWR Fuel Cycle Closed

Transportation Among Steps
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Transportation

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Waste Drum Containers

New Fuel Shipping

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Spent-Fuel-Assembly Cask

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Cask Thermal Test Cask Crash Test

Drop

Puncture

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Fire
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Immersion

Minimal Damage No Leakage

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Pressurized Water Reactor

(Light Water Thermal Reactors)

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Image Source Notes

1. Reprinted with permission from the American Nuclear Society. Nuclear Engineering Theory and Technology of Commercial Nuclear Power by Ronald Allen Knief, 2nd Edition. Copyright 2008 by the American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, Illinois. Figure 19-1. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UsineHague.jpg Reprinted with permission from Ron Knief. Reprinted with permission from Larry Foulke. Goldner, F. (2003). Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) - DOE Nuclear Energy International Programs - ADS Related Activities. International Meeting on Accelerator Driven Transmutation System Technologies, Las Vegas, Nevada. http://hrcweb.nevada.edu/rsatg/atw/pdffiles/Microsoft PowerPoint - Goldner.pdf

2. 3. 4. 5.

Image Source Notes

6. Wigeland, R. A. & Bauer, T. H. (2004). Repository Benefits of AFCI Options. Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory. ANL-AFCI-129. http://www.ipd.anl.gov/anlpubs/2005/07/53652.pdf 7. Reprinted with permission from Nuclear Energy Institute. http://www.nei.org/corporatesite/media/filefolder/yucca _nevada_map.jpg 8. Reprinted with permission from Nuclear Energy Institute. http://www.nei.org/corporatesite/media/filefolder/yucca _mountain_aerial_view.jpg 9. Public domain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Capitol _west_front_edit2.jpg 10. U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/factsheets/dry-cask-storage.html

Image Source Notes

11. Department of Energy. http://www.wipp.energy.gov/Photo_Gallery_Images /Photos/Entrance.jpg 12. Public domain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WIPP-04.jpeg 13. Reprinted with permission from NRC staff. 14. Transuranic Waste Transportation Containers Fact Sheet. Department of Energy. http://www.wipp.energy.gov/fctshts/truwastecontai ners.pdf

Image Source Notes

15. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. Bill Ebbesen. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en 16. Information Digest, 20122013 (NUREG-1350, Volume 24). U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/staff/sr1350/ 17. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/6800273124/ 18. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/6800272402/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/6800272614 19. Public domain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PressurizedWaterReact or.gif