Progress in Electrometallurgical Treatment of Spent Nuclear Fuel

Abstract

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has been developing electrometallurgical treatment processes since the late 1980s. These non-aqueous processes separate uranium from fission products via a series of high temperature steps: electrorefining, cathode processing, and metal casting. During the past five years, more than 1.8 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel have been processed in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at ANL-West. This operating experience has provided the basis for a more detailed evaluation of these processes. High-level waste forms have been produced at a demonstration scale with the materials from the spent fuel. Although processing is currently limited to 600 kilograms per year by funding constraints, plans and technical advances are being implemented to increase processing to 5 tonnes per year. These operations include producing high-level waste for final geologic disposal.