• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.283-295
• /
• 2007

The technical feasibility of a pyroprocessing of PWR spent fuels to recover nuclear fuel materials, uranium and transuranic elements group(TRU), was examined in this study. Also its applicability as a new fuel cycle technology in terms of non-proliferation was investigated. First, various unit processes were combined to a pyroprocess. Then the flow aspects of such materials of issue as uranium, transuraniums, rare earth, noble metals and heat generating elements were examined on the flowsheet, which was obtained by the assumptions on the basis of various experimental results in this work or separation data collected from literatures. Consequently, the calculated results of the material balance for the whole process showed that uranium and TRU could be recovered as products by 98.0 % and 97.0 %, respectively, from a PWR spent fuel while removing the other elemental groups into radioactive wastes. On the one hand, the TRU product was found to emit a considerable amount of ${\gamma}$-ray as well as neutrons favorably contributing to the strategy of proliferation resistance.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.291-299
• /
• 2018

Under a pyro-processing concept, an electrolytic reduction process has been developed to reduce uranium oxide in molten salt by electrochemical means as a part of spent fuel treatment process development. Accordingly, a model based on electrochemical theory is required to design a reactor for the electrolytic reduction process. In this study, a 1D model based on the phase-field theory, which explains phase separation behaviors was developed to simulate electrolytic reduction of uranium oxide. By adopting parameters for diffusion of oxygen elements in a pellet and electrochemical reaction rate at the surface of the pellet, the model described the behavior of inward reduction well and revealed that the current depends on the internal diffusion of the oxygen element. The model for the electrolytic reduction is expected to be used to determine the optimum conditions for large scale reactor design. It is also expected that the model will be applied to simulate the integration of pyro-processing.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.279-298
• /
• 2019

This study comprehensively addresses recent progress at KAERI in waste treatment technology to cope with waste produced by pyroprocessing, which is used to effectively manage spent fuel. The goal of pyroprocessing waste treatment is to reduce final waste volume, fabricate durable waste forms suitable for disposal, and ensure safe packaging and storage. KAERI employs grouping of fission products recovered from process streams and immobilizes them in separate waste forms, resulting in product recycling and waste volume minimization. Novel aspects of KAERI approach include high temperature treatment of spent oxide fuel for the fabrication of feed materials for the oxide reduction process, and fission product concentration or separation from LiCl or LiCl-KCl salt streams for salt recycling and higher fission-product loading in the final waste form. Based on laboratory-scale tests, an engineering-scale process test is in progress to obtain information on the performance of scale-up processes at KAERI.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.201-211
• /
• 2005

In this study, conventional head-end processes of spent TRISO fuel have been reviewed to develope more effective treatment methods. The main concerns in the TRISO treatment are to effectively separate the carbon and SiC contained in the TRISO particles. The crush-burn scheme which was considered in the early stages of the development has been replaced by the crush-leach process because of $^{14}C$ problems as a second waste being generated during the process. However, there are still many obstacles to overcome in the reported processes. Hence, innovative thermomechanical concepts and a molten salt electrochemical approach to breach the coating layers of the TRISO particle with a minimized amount of second waste are proposed in this paper and their principles are described in detail.