Design-Only Conceptual Design Report: Plutonium Immobilization Plant

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/791623· OSTI ID:791623

DiSabatino, A; Loftus, D

This design-only conceptual design report was prepared to support a funding request by the Department of Energy Office of Fissile Materials Disposition for engineering and design of the Plutonium Immobilization Plant, which will be used to immobilize up to 50 tonnes of surplus plutonium. The siting for the Plutonium Immobilization Plant will be determined pursuant to the site-specific Surplus Plutonium Disposition Environmental Impact Statement in a Plutonium Deposition Record of Decision in early 1999. This document reflects a new facility using the preferred technology (ceramic immobilization using the can-in-canister approach) and the preferred site (at Savannah River). The Plutonium Immobilization Plant accepts plutonium from pit conversion and from non-pit sources and, through a ceramic immobilization process, converts the plutonium into mineral-like forms that are subsequently encapsulated within a large canister of high-level waste glass. The final immobilized product must make the plutonium as inherently unattractive and inaccessible for use in nuclear weapons as the plutonium in spent fuel from commercial reactors and must be suitable for geologic disposal. Plutonium immobilization at the Savannah River Site uses: (1) A new building, the Plutonium Immobilization Plant, which will convert non-pit surplus plutonium to an oxide form suitable for the immobilization process, immobilize plutonium in a titanate-based ceramic form, place cans of the plutonium-ceramic forms into magazines, and load the magazines into a canister; (2) The existing Defense Waste Processing Facility for the pouring of high-level waste glass into the canisters; and (3) The Actinide Packaging and Storage Facility to receive and store feed materials. The Plutonium Immobilization Plant uses existing Savannah River Site infra-structure for analytical laboratory services, waste handling, fire protection, training, and other support utilities and services. The Plutonium Immobilization Plant may share the disposition of the 50 tonnes of plutonium with the mixed oxide fuel/reactor disposition alternative. For this case, immobilization will process 18.2 tonnes of plutonium in 10 years.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Defense Programs (DP) (US)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-Eng-48
• OSTI ID: 791623
• Report Number(s): UCRL-ID-131617-Rev-1; TRN: US0501975
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: 1 Jan 1999
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
ACTINIDES
CERAMICS
CONTAINERS
DEPOSITION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS
FISSILE MATERIALS
GLASS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
OXIDES
PACKAGING
PLUTONIUM
SAFETY REPORTS
SPENT FUELS
STORAGE
TRAINING
WASTE PROCESSING