Plasma Separation Process Feasibility Study for Commercial Enrichment of Gadolinium-157 (Final Report)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Exelon Generation, Chicago, IL (United States)
The US nuclear power fleet is actively working on innovative initiatives that will reduce total fuel cycle and operations costs to stay economically competitive. Converting the natural gadolinium (Gd) currently used in US light water reactors (LWRs) to enriched Gd could reduce fuel costs by up to $$\$$ $ 6.3M and $$\$$ $ 2.4M per operation cycle per unit of boiling water reactor (BWR) and pressurized water reactor PWR), respectively, according to a recent Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) report (EPRI 2017). The availability of an enrichment technology capable of producing Gd oxide (Gd2O3) that is enriched to greater than 70% 157Gd at a scale of 1,000 kg annually is the primary obstacle to realizing the benefits detailed in the EPRI report. A promising and proven technology for Gd enrichment is the plasma separation process (PSP), which was developed for uranium enrichment in the 1980s. PSP technology was further matured for the production-scale enrichment of palladium and proof-of-concept enrichment of157Gd in the 2000s (Bigelow 2005). The analysis and modeling conducted for this report predicts that a PSP facility optimized for Gd is feasible at ton scale and could economically benefit the US nuclear power industry. A PSP-based enrichment facility with three units could meet the US demand for enriched Gd2O3 at better than 70% 157Gd enrichment and up to 2,700 kg of oxide enriched annually. This work modeled the performance of an optimized PSP design to predict the annual capacity and isotopic enrichment of 157Gd. Operating and capital cost estimates were developed and combined with the annual capacity to determine economic feasibility. The operating cost model, which included labor, source material cost, electricity consumption, maintenance, and operating contingency shows economic benefit compared to the industrial value of the enriched 157Gd. The estimated operating cost, without amortization of capital cost, is two-thirds to one-half of the enriched isotope’s industrial value as calculated from the EPRI report. The capital cost of the first full-scale PSP equipment is estimated at $$\$$ $ 99M with additions machine-estimated at $$\$$ $ 81M each. A building to house 3-units is estimated at $$\$$ $ 59M, plus $$\$$ $ 21M for a target fabrication building and equipment. The cost estimates prepared for this feasibility study are consistent with a Class 5 estimate as defined by the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) and have an accuracy range between-50% and +100% from the point estimates. The full scale Gd production facility, which included 3 PSP units, a new building, and a target fabrication facility has a total project cost estimate of $$\$$ $ 344M and a cost range between $$\$$ $ 172M and $$\$$ $ 688M. Based on the predicted fuel cost savings, the point estimate operating and capital cost assumptions predict a simple capital payback period without escalation and without cost-of-money of 6–15 years to recover the capital investment. The construction and testing of a smaller scale production demonstration unit is recommended prior to the full-scale facility to verify the operating performance and operating cost assumptions made in this report. The demonstration facility has an estimated capacity of 130 kg of enriched Gd2O3 annually and will help to reduce the cost range and uncertainty of the full-scale facility. A point estimate for production demonstration project has a point estimate of $$\$$ $ 70M and cost range between $$\$$ $ 35M and $$\$$ $ 140M, which includes $$\$$ $ 55M for the PSP equipment and allowances for facility and pre-conceptual engineering. The availability of enriched Gd would reduce the fuel costs of the US nuclear power industry and have additional benefits throughout the nuclear fuel cycle. Beyond this report’s focus on Gd, PSP could be used for a wide range of isotopes and applications to compliment other deployed enrichment technologies. A PSP enrichment program grounded in the maturity of previous production designs and recent experience in stable isotope enrichment and high-power fusion plasma experiments could make a lasting impact on the US supply of stable isotopes and future competitiveness of the US nuclear enterprise.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1647749
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2020/26; CRADA/NFE-19-07628; CRADA/NFE-19-07628
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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