INTRODUCTION TO THE PYROPROCESSING SPECIAL ISSUE

摘要

Approximately 75 researchers from seven different countries converged on Idaho Falls, home of Idaho National Laboratory, on August 8-10, 2006, to discuss and share research results in the area of pyroprocessing. This was the first in what is expected to be a long-term series of international conferences on pyroprocessing research. Pyroprocessing is a leading technology for achieving the separations goals of the nuclear fuel cycle; it is being developed by several nations and currently plays a prominent role in the United States-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. It is a dry processing technique in which spent fuel is electrochemically separated into reusable product and waste streams using high-temperature molten salt electrolytes. Compared to aqueous processing techniques, such as PUREX, pyroprocessing has compact space requirements and certain proliferation advantages. It also offers potential improvements in waste management because of the low number of waste streams generated. It has not yet been commercially implemented, but it has been demonstrated at an engineering scale for the EBR-II Spent Fuel Treatment project at Idaho National Laboratory.