Pyrochemical Treatment Of Spent Nuclear Fuel

Abstract

Over the last 10 years, pyrochemical treatment of spent nuclear fuel has progressed from demonstration activities to engineering-scale production operations. As part of the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology, pyrochemical treatment operations are being performed as part of the treatment of fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor II at the Idaho National Laboratory. Integral to these treatment operations are research and development activities that are focused on scaling further the technology, developing and implementing process improvements, qualifying the resulting high-level waste forms, and demonstrating the overall pyrochemical fuel cycle.