Processing reprocessing

REDOX process -reprocessing of nuclear fuel [NUCLEAR REACTORS - CHEMICALREPROCESSING] (Vol 17)... 

In Europe, spent fuel is frequently reprocessed, which involves dissolving the fuel elements in nitric acid. Since plutonium is created in the fission process, reprocessed fuel contains both radioactive U and Pu, and is referred to as a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. 

The archiving standard PDF/A-3 and the unification of source standards for chromatographic data, together, generate a real future opportunity to ensure independence of manufacturers and systems for chromatographic data as report data, including all metadata, as well as their processing (reprocessability). With the realization of the above-mentioned options, the demands of some auditors are obsolete to keep older computers, software, and expertise in a validated environment, to possibly have access to older data. 

Antioxidants undergo oxidative transformation as a consequence of their antioxidant function. This transformation results in a chemical loss of antioxidants, which can occur during processing, reprocessing and recycling, or during service life. 

If the spent fuel is processed in a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, the radioactive iodine species (elemental iodine and methyl iodide) trapped in the spent fuel elements ate ultimately released into dissolver off gases. The radioactive iodine may then be captured by chemisorption on molecular sieve 2eohtes containing silver (89). 

Special safety constraints apply to equipment selection, design, and operation in nuclear reprocessing (269). Equipment should be reHable and capable of remote control and operation for long periods with minimal maintenance. Pulsed columns and remotely operated mixer—settlers are commonly used (270). The control of criticaHty and extensive monitoring of contamination levels must be included in the process design. 

In addition, solvent extraction is appHed to the processing of other metals for the nuclear industry and to the reprocessing of spent fuels (see Nuclearreactors). It is commercially used for the cobalt—nickel separation prior to electrowinning in chloride electrolyte. Both extraction columns and mixer-settlers are in use. 

An improved solvent extraction process, PUREX, utilizes an organic mixture of tributyl phosphate solvent dissolved in a hydrocarbon diluent, typically dodecane. This was used at Savannah River, Georgia, ca 1955 and Hanford, Washington, ca 1956. Waste volumes were reduced by using recoverable nitric acid as the salting agent. A hybrid REDOX/PUREX process was developed in Idaho Falls, Idaho, ca 1956 to reprocess high bum-up, fuUy enriched (97% u) uranium fuel from naval reactors. Other separations processes have been developed. The desirable features are compared in Table 1. 

Chemical Separation. A reprocessing facility typically utilizes multiple extraction/reextraction (stripping) cycles for the recovery and purification of uranium and plutonium. For example, a co-decontamination and partitioning cycle is followed by one or more cycles of uranium and plutonium purification. The basic process is illustrated in Figure 3. 

A large portion of the can be released from the reprocessing faciHty as CO2. Thus a recovery process has been developed using an alkaline absorbent column (37). 

In the reprocessing environment there are many mthenium compounds, some of which are gaseous. Some reprocessing approaches, notably the REDOX process, require a mthenium removal step in the off-gas system. The PUREX process maintains mthenium in one of its nonvolatile states. 

S. Lawroski and M. Levenson, The Redox Process—H Solvent Extraction Reprocessing Methodfor Irradiated Cranium, TlD-7534, US AEG, Oak Ridge, Term., 1957. 

Chemical processing or reprocessing (39) of the fuel to extract the plutonium and uranium left a residue of radioactive waste, which was stored in underground tanks. By 1945, the reactors had produced enough plutonium for two nuclear weapons. One was tested at Alamogordo, New Mexico, in July 1945 the other was dropped at Nagasaki in August 1945. 

One feature of reprocessing plants which poses potential risks of a different nature from those ia a power plant is the need to handle highly radioactive and fissionable material ia Hquid form. This is necessary to carry out the chemical separations process. The Hquid materials and the equipment with which it comes ia contact need to be surrounded by 1.5—1.8-m thick high density concrete shielding and enclosures to protect the workers both from direct radiation exposure and from inhalation of airborne radioisotopes. Rigid controls must also be provided to assure that an iaadvertent criticahty does not occur. 

When reactor-grade plutonium is left in spent fuel, the large size of the fuel assembhes and the lethal radiation fields make it extremely difficult to divert the material covertly. Once the reactor-grade plutonium is separated in the commercial reprocessing option, however, the radiation barrier is almost eliminated, and in certain steps of the process the plutonium is in powder or Hquid form, which is much more easily diverted than large, bulky fuel... 

Recycling of HDPE. Polyolefins, including HDPE, are the second most widely recycled thermoplastic materials after PET (110). A significant fraction of articles made from HDPE (mostly bottles, containers, and film) are collected from consumers, sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed (110—113). Processing of post-consumer HDPE includes the same operations as those used for virgin resins blow mol ding, injection molding, and extmsion. 

Another preparation method is a sintering process where phosphate ore, sand, and coal are blended together and ignited on the grates of a sintering machine. Air is pulled through the blend, and the entire mass is allowed to bum. The resulting fused bed of material is then cmshed and screened to the appropriate size distribution, and the undersized material is reprocessed. 

Nuclear Waste Reprocessing. Liquid waste remaining from processing of spent reactor fuel for military plutonium production is typically acidic and contains substantial transuranic residues. The cleanup of such waste in 1996 is a higher priority than military plutonium processing. Cleanup requires removal of long-Hved actinides from nitric or hydrochloric acid solutions. The transuranium extraction (Tmex) process has been developed for... 

---