Advanced reprocessing

Actinide chemistry involving soft donors and separation of Ans and Lns by tailor-made soft donors has been prevailing worldwide because its fruits are highly valuable in separation science and technology especially for the advanced reprocessing and partitioning. 

Several consolidated flow concepts (CFCs) of advanced reprocessing have been proposed. The overall goal of a CFC could be attained by a combination of the performance of constituent elemental processes of the CFC. Technologically, it seems inappropriate to discuss the proposed CFCs in detail, because the elemental separation technologies are still evolving and immature, and some may be replaced by others in some cases. Three CFCs are, therefore, briefly explained here for comparison. 

As described above, various separation processes and CFCs have been developed and proposed, aiming at the modification of the current PUREX process and reformation of the Improved PUREX and also aiming at the establishment of advanced reprocessing processes. Figure 1.10 shows a classification scheme for these processes and CFCs. 

Due to limited space, reports pertaining to rather futuristic technologies, such as, supercritical fluid extraction (481-484) and biphasic aqueous extraction (485, 486), were not referred to here (see Chapter 11). Nevertheless, these lead to new and very different avenues for future progress in developing advanced reprocessing technologies. 

Tachimori, S., Yaita, T., Suzuki, S., Rais, J. 2008. Development of CHON- extractants and proliferation resistant advanced reprocessing ARTIST, in Japan. Proc DAE-BRNS Biennial Symp on Emerging Trends in Separation Science and Technology, SESTEC-2008, University of Delhi, March 12-14, pp. 18-24. 

Tanaka H, Kawamura F, Nishimura T, Kamiya M (2001) Design study on advanced reprocessing systems for fuel cycle. Global 2001. In International conference on back end nuclear fuel cycle from research to solutions, Paris... 

Bourg, S., C. Poinssot, A. Geist, L. Gassayre, G. Rhodes, and C. Ekberg. 2012. Advanced reprocessing developments in Europe status on European projects ASCSEPT and ACTINET 13. Procedia Chemistry 7 166-171. 

Sato, K., 2005. Conceptual Design Study and Evaluation of Advanced Reprocessing Plants in the Feasibihty Study on Commerciahzed FR Cycle Systems in Japan. In Proceedings of GFOBAL 2005 Tsukuba, Japan, Oct 9—13, 2005, Paper No. 502. 

C is fafrly easy to dissolve, material calcined at higher temperatures (up to 1700°C) becomes an intractable refractory oxide. Better methods, which can be scaled to a production mode, are needed to convert these refractory oxides to a form amenable to reprocessing. Some advances have been made in aqueous dissolution, using an electrolytic assist to fluoride dissolution, but further chemical and engineering data are needed to convert this into a viable production process.(19)... 

The research programme of the European Institute for Transuranium Elements was, from its very beginning, devoted to both basic research on advanced plutonium containing fuel and to fundamental research on actinide elements. Non-fuel actinide research in Europe started more than 20 years ago with the reprocessing of irradiated actinide samples. Since the first isolation and purification of transplutonium elements, actinide research developed steadily in close contact and cooperation with specialised laboratories in Western Europe and in the United States. 

The use of advanced composites has increased significantly in the last decade. The properties of high-specific strength and stiffness make composites ideal for many aerospace, automotive, and infrastructure applications. Fiber-reinforced composites, which commonly use thermosetting resins such as epoxies as the matrix material, have some inherent deficiencies. These include the need for multistep processing, limited shelf-life, low toughness, sensitivity to moisture, and the inability to reprocess or reform the material [1]. 

Drain, F., Moulin, J.P., Gillet, B. 2000. Advanced solvent management in the La Hague reprocessing plants. AIChE Spring Meeting, March 5-9, Atlanta, GA. 

Regalbuto, M.C. 2006. Chemical reprocessing plant simulation. Advanced simulations A critical tool for future nuclear fuel cycles, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, December 14-16. 

Christiansen, B., Apostolidis, C., Carlos, R. et al. 2004. Advanced aqueous reprocessing in P T strategies Process demonstrations on genuine fuels and targets. Radiochim. Acta 92 (8) 475-480. 

Takata, T., Koma, Y., Sato, K. et al. 2004. Conceptual design study on advanced aqueous reprocessing system for fast reactor fuel cycle. J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 41 (3) 307-314. 

Shadrin, A., Kamachev, V., Kvasnitsky, I., Romanovsky, V., Bondin, V., Krivitsky, Y., Alekseenko, S. 2007. Extraction reprocessing of HLW by modified SETFICS-process. Global 2007 Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Systems, September, Boise, ID. 

Paiva, A.P., Malik, P. Recent advances on the chemistry of solvent extraction applied to the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels and radioactive wastes. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. (2004), 261 (2), 485 196. 

The United States will probably need three fuel cycle centers. Each would include a reprocessing plant, an advanced fuel fabrication facility, and a waste glassification and storage facility. 

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