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A Trade Study for Waste Concepts to Minimize HLW Volume

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Dirk Gombert
Affiliation:
dirk.Gombert@inl.gov, United States
Joe Carter
Affiliation:
joe.carter@srs.gov, Savannah River Site, Process Engineering, Aiken, South Carolina, United States
Bill Ebert
Affiliation:
ebert@cmt.anl.gov, Argonne National Laboratory, Material Science, Argonne, Illinois, United States
Steve Piet
Affiliation:
Steven.Piet@inl.gov, Idaho National Laboratory, Reactor Physics & Analysis, Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Tim Trickel
Affiliation:
tatricke@ncsu.edu, North Carolina State University, Nuclear Engineering, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
John Vienna
Affiliation:
john.vienna@pnl.gov, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Material Science, Richland, Washington, United States
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Abstract

Advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing can partition wastes into groups of common chemistry. This enables new waste management strategies not possible with the plutonium, uranium extraction (PUREX) process alone. Combining all of the metallic fission products in an alloy and the balance as oxides in glass minimizes high level waste (HLW) volume. Implementing a waste management strategy using state-of-the-art combined waste forms and storage to allow radioactive decay and heat dissipation prior to placement in a repository makes it possible to place almost 10x the HLW equivalent of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in the same repository space. However, using generic costs based on preliminary studies for waste stabilization facilities and separations modules, this analysis shows that combining the non-actinide wastes and using only one glass waste form is the most cost-effective.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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References

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