Reprocessing of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Essay Example

Pyroprocessing Flowsheets for Recycling Used Nuclear

Fuel by Williamson and Willit (2011) describes a process whereby nuclear fuel recycling is accounted for through a Pyroprocessing Flowsheets. Two conceptual flow sheets were developed for the recycling/reprocessing intervention. One sheet, specifically, showed reprocessing of spectrum reactors retrieved from used metal fuel. The other flow sheet showed reprocessed oxide nuclear fluid derived from light water reactors. These flow charts were designed based on scientific principles. They included taking into account nollproliferation, commercial viability, actinide recovery and waste minimization. The authors discussed the chemical process for each principle used in the flow charts (Williamson & Willit, 2011).

The writers’ position on reprocessing relates to efficiency of actinide recovery, which ought to be 99.9% accurate. It is believed that once there is efficiency in this process the least amount of waste is incurred. During the recovery stage transurantic elements minimize radiotoxicity of waste being processed. Authors were profound in explaining that actinide recovery at a 99.9% rate was essential to reprocessing of nuclear fuel because in the long term it has the potential to significantly reduce heat load travelling into the waste stream. This is important because it facilitates resolving nonproliferation issues in the reprocessing cycle. These authors contend that their focus was on uranium co-deposit and transuranic elements rather than each transuranic element pure stream (Williamson & Willit, 2011).

The author position is one which is profound towards controlling global warming and is agreeable. While actinide is not the only element in the environment responsible for increased temperatures it is important that during reprocessing of nuclear fuel no additional heat is filtered into the atmosphere.

References

Williamson, M., & Willit, J.(2011). Pyroprocessing Flowsheets for Recycling Used Nuclear Fuel Nuclear Engineering and Technology (Korean Nuclear Society) 43 (4): 329–334