Improving the actinides recycling in closed fuel cycles, a major step towards nuclear energy sustainability
- RadioChemistry and Processes Department, CEA Marcoule, 30207 Bagnols sur Ceze (France)
- Innovation and Industrial Support Direction, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
Increasing the sustainability of nuclear energy is a longstanding road that requires a stepwise approach to successively tackle the following 3 objectives. First of all, optimize the consumption of natural resource to preserve them for future generations and hence guarantee the energetic independence of the countries (no uranium ore is needed anymore). The current twice-through cycle of Pu implemented by France, UK, Japan and soon China is a first step in this direction and already allows the development and optimization of the relevant industrial processes. It also allows a major improvement regarding the conditioning of the ultimate waste in a durable and robust nuclear glass. Secondly, the recycling of americium could be an interesting option for the future with the deployment of FR fleet to save the repository resource and optimize its use by allowing a denser disposal. It would limit the burden towards the future generations and the need for additional repositories before several centuries. Thirdly, the recycling of the whole minor actinides inventory could be an interesting option for the far-future for strongly decreasing the waste long-term toxicity, down to a few centuries. It would bring the waste issue back within the human history, which should promote its acceptance by the social opinion.
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22257924
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: GLOBAL 2013: International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference - Nuclear Energy at a Crossroads, Salt Lake City, UT (United States), 29 Sep - 3 Oct 2013; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs.; Related Information: In: Proceedings of GLOBAL 2013: International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference - Nuclear Energy at a Crossroads| 1633 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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