Reprocessing of nuclear fuels at the Savannah River Plant

Technical Report · Sat Oct 04 04:00:00 EDT 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7061188· OSTI ID:7061188

Gray, L W

For more than 30 years, the Savannah River Plant (SRP) has been a major supplier of nuclear materials such as plutonium-239 and tritium-3 for nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, plutonium-238 for space exploration, and isotopes of americium, curium, and californium for use in the nuclear research community. SRP is a complete nuclear park, providing most of the processes in the nuclear fuel cycle. Key processes involve fabrication and cladding of the nuclear fuel, target, and control assemblies; rework of heavy water for use as reactor moderator; reactor loading, operation, and unloading; chemical recovery of the reactor transmutation products and spent fuels; and management of the gaseous, liquid, and solid nuclear and chemical wastes; plus a host of support operations. The site's history and the key processes from fabrication of reactor fuels and targets to finishing of virgin plutonium for use in the nuclear weapons complex are reviewed. Emphasis has been given to the chemistry of the recovery and purification of weapons grade plutonium from irradiated reactor targets.

• Research Organization: Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-76SR00001
• OSTI ID: 7061188
• Report Number(s): DP-MS-86-157; ON: DE87006387
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050800* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Spent Fuels Reprocessing
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ACTINIDES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FUELS
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
ION EXCHANGE
MATERIALS
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
NUCLEAR FUELS
PLUTONIUM
PUREX PROCESS
REACTOR MATERIALS
REPROCESSING
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPENT FUELS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS